


A Different Time

by jesseknows



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Death, Gen, Horcrux Hunting, Horcruxes, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Marauders' Era, Master of Death (Harry Potter), Second Chances, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 20:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16272098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesseknows/pseuds/jesseknows
Summary: Fate really seemed to love messing with Assyria. Finding herself and siblings in 1975 and 15 years old once again, they're given a chance to do things right this time. Friends could be saved, families would not be broken. They could save everyone and they were certainly going to try.





	1. Thanks Neville.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is most definitely not canon. Harry Potter isn't the Boy-Who-Lived, actually it's the Girl-Who-Lived instead but, she isn't actually a Potter. The OC was however taken in by the Potters after her parents death, only for them and Harry to be killed. Since Dumbledore thought it was a good idea, the OC took Harry's place at the Dursley's. Some other things will also be changed to accompany this of course, or it wouldn't work. I've always thought that Dumbledore was too trigger happy and willing to let those around him die for his greater good so we'll be exploring that in this story.
> 
> Credit to Amara22 from AO3 who's work has inspired me to keep working on my story. It was brought to my attention a few chapters into my story that my story and hers were similar so I went to read it and let me tell you, IT IS AMAZING!! I feel happy to know that there is another person in this world who despises certain characters or their actions like me😌 Since it is so similar, I will however strive to make my story have different elements to her. Please do not think I am stealing her work because I would never. I would rather stop writing forever than steal a fellow writers story. GO CHECK OUT HER WORK THOUGH! It is awesome😌😌

* * *

Assyria really, really should have seen this coming. Agreeing to tutor Neville Longbottom with the help of Draco in Potions was them basically asking for something to go wrong. Neville was wiz at Herbology but he could just look at a potion and it would go wrong. However, he was her brother so she'd help him. After the war, it seemed like only Neville, Luna and Draco understood her. Assyria couldn't understand how the other thirds of the  _Golden Trio_ continued on with their lives, like they hadn't spent the past 7 years trying to survive in a war where trouble constantly found them.

_Please..._

That's why while Hermione and Ron continued on with their lives, she had gotten a new family. She still cared for them deeply but the truth was, she felt they didn't understand her anymore. Neville, Luna and surprisingly Draco understood her more than Ron and Hermione ever did. They had all lost people to this war, to that madman and we couldn't understand why everyone went on pretending like it didn't happen. Draco lost his father and his reputation, Neville already lost his parents and many friends, Luna just wanted someone to be there for her but everyone had written her off as a crazy, aloof girl and Assyria, well she felt like she didn't know who she was anymore. She had always been the strength in the Golden Trio. The loyal one. The one who was always there when there was a fight, always there to protect them and now, she just didn't know. They were all there for each other, while the Wizarding World continued on like nothing happened, they held each other together. They blood adopted each other as siblings but all decided to carry Assyria's last name.

Luna and Draco's hair while still blonde, now had streaks of raven coloured hair in it. They both still had their grey-blue eyes but it now had flecks of violet in them. Neville's hair stayed the same colour except he now had streaks of blonde and auburn undertones that could only be seen in the sun. He usually kept his hair tied in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He unlike their brother and sister had pure violet eyes now. Assyria's dark, wavy midthigh hair now had blonde highlights and her purely violet eyes now had flecks of blue in them. Their family was unconventional but they had each others back. They trained. Assyria taught them everything she knew about duelling. Knives, daggers, swords to wandless and wordless magic. They were a force to be reckoned with and would not be caught off guard if the remaining Death Eaters attempted another uprise even if Voldemort was dead. Despite all the training they did, Neville still couldn't brew a potion worth a damn.

Anyways back to the fact that after a potions accident that always seemed to followed Neville everywhere, Assyria found herself sprawled out on an unfamiliar bed, her siblings knocked out on the floor around her with a Sirius Black lookalike standing over her. At first, she thought it was Sirius until she saw the green and silver. Yeah, Sirius would never. This must be Regulus Black, Sirius' little brother. The Regulus Black that should be dead. He was looking pretty well for a dead person. Assyria looked over him. Definitely looking well.

"I must be dead if you're here," She mused. "Although admittedly, I did not think that my afterlife would look like a Slytherin boys dorm room."

His grey eyes looked at her with an uimpressed but otherwise confused expression like as if he wasn't sure whether to think she was crazy or he himself was. Assyria was accustomed to people giving her the exact same expression in her time, when she did something unbecoming of an Emrys Head of House and one third of the Golden Trio. Those people could promptly kiss her ass though, if she was being honest. Being someone of importance could be draining after awhile.

"You're not dead. I would like to know how you appeared in my bed and how the rest of them appeared aswell?" Very pureblood of you to ask, thanks.

Assyria had two options. She could either lie to his face or mess with time. Messing with time could be dangerous. People could die or not be born... Let's do it. Maybe if she tried hard enough, Cho Chang wouldn't be born.

"Well if you must know, me and my brother were working on a potion." She pointed to the raven-haired boy on the floor. "Me and my other brother are tutoring him you see. I turn around for one minute only for the potion to explode. I blacked out and find myself in your room and on your bed. My sister was also there so she must have been hit with the blast."

Regulus rolled his eyes. "You don't really think I'd believe a made up story like that, do you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Believe what you want but, considering the fact that where I come from Regulus Arcturus Black is very much dead. There are only two options. I'm dead or in the past and believe me, none of those options sound appealing to me." She said. "However, this is most definitely not the weirdest shit to have happened to me."

Hearing that he's dead seemed to get a reaction out of him. She broke his pureblood mask. Assyria was feeling a little smug about that. Regulus looked beyond shock as though not sure if I was telling the truth or just pulling his leg like any sane person would joke about death. After facing Voldemort, finding out her true heritage and what she was, this is not on the list of craziest things to happen in Assyria's life.

"The past?"

"Yes as in I'm from the future." She said. "What year is it by the way?"

"It's nineteen seventy-five. September 1st." Regulus bit out, still slightly shocked.

"I won't even be born for about five more years. My parents probably haven't even met yet. This is great although, I'm not exactly fond of looking fifteen years old again." She looked down at her body and could see noticeable changes. Looking at her siblings, she found they also looked younger.

The youngest and from what I heard, favourite son of Walburga and Orion Black narrowed his eyes; clearly still unsure of whether or not she was telling the truth or just another Slytherin fan girl trying to bag the Black heir.

"What's your name?"

"Assyria. Assyria Emrys"

She watched as his eyes widened in shock. Use to this reaction, she waited for the outburst that usually came with introducing herself.

"Emrys? That family line died out years ago."

"It has been remade." Assyria smirked and grey eyes widened.

After the initial shock, Assyria sat and watched as Regulus went over the new information in his head. He was a true Slytherin. No brash decisions unlike their Gryffindor counterparts and definitely no willingness to trust so easily. She knew that she was lucky that he hadn't asked for a Vow or had access to Veritaserum. Although being a Black, maybe he did have access. Assyria didn't care much for what he would do to her; she could easily stun him and leave if she wanted to and at this moment, she did not.

"Still that doesn't explain how you ended up in my bed?" Regulus broke through my thoughts. I can see that he is still thinking about the fact that he is dead in my time. The future was definitely not sunshine and rainbows for Regulus if he was already dead.

"That part I don't know," She said. "I just woke up and saw you." Assyria always did think that she had rotten luck. Why couldn't they be transported to a place with no witnesses? How about Fate leaving her family alone altogether?

Assyria saw a flicker of curiosity flash through Regulus' grey eyes. He wants to know about the future. She would be more scared if he wasn't curious about what happened to him in the future. He would die an unsung hero. Someone who had been instrumental in defeating the Dark Lord but received no recognition at all. Regulus Black showed that Death Eaters did have the potential to change. They had the potential to have a change of heart in the sense.

They're interrupted from their talking by the sounds of groaning and colourful words being thrown around. "Thanks Nev. You really out did yourself this time." Draco said sarcastically, holding his head and glaring at their brother. Luna just sat there, a dreamy look on her face as she stared at their surroundings.

"Sorry Dray. I really did try this time."

Draco rolled his eyes but smiled at him to show he wasn't actually angry. "It's fine Nev. Just leave the potion making to me and Ri, ok?"

They finally looked up and saw Regulus standing there. Eyes widened when they saw him which then turned to look at her. "Dray, Nev, Luns meet Regulus Black. Regulus, these are my siblings; Neville, Draco and Luna."

Greetings and smiles were offered which Regulus responded to with a curt nod to each of them. Unsure with how to proceed, there was a few moments of silence before Luna opened her mouth and said, "We can change things now."

The group stared at her for a few moments before asking, "Change what?"

"Things that were once can be no more. Lives that were lost can be restored." The siblings all looked at each other, almost as if they were having a secret conversation with each other. They nodded before looking at Regulus. "It seems we need to leave." They said.

Flicking their wrist, strong notice-me-not charms were placed on the siblings. He gaped at their casual show of power but couldn't dwell on it long before a wand was pointed at him by the small blonde girl who didn't seem to be all there. She had a dreamy look on her face and Regulus wondered if she was okay or just lost in the head.

"Obliviate."

The siblings left immediately, apparating to Gringotts. They had a chance to change the war and they all knew they would take that chance. People who didn't live long enough would now have their chance. They were also thinking about how much they liked Regulus Black but, knew it was for the best. No one could know that they were from the future.


	2. Hello Master

Arriving in Diagon Alley, the siblings tried to blend in but, they weren't really known for that. They had an ethereal beauty and lure about them that subconsciously drew peoples attention. However, they kept walking, ignoring everyone and anyone around them. Arriving at Gringotts, the siblings opened the door and entered, only to be surrounded by white. Assyria recognized it as the place she had seen Dumbledore in after she had died. He wasn't there this time thankfully as Assyria would have most certainly have tried to find a way to kill him a second time. Instead they were welcomed by a tall, skeletal man clothed in black with his hood over what she assumed was his head although, there appeared to be no head there and only a black void.

"Master, I have been waiting for you." He, it said, looking at her. Master? Why was he calling her Master?

"Master?" Assyria replied, trying to think of when she had met a tall, skeletal and slightly haunting person...thing.

"I am Death and you are my Master," her siblings besides Luna looked at her in surprise. "you are the only one who was able to collect all my Hallows and therefore have earnt the title."

"Why have you brought us here Death?" she asked, slowly walking towards him, her siblings following after her albeit reluctantly. She did not fear Death.

"I saw how Master was sad because of the people that were lost because of the war," his skeletal hands waved around him. "so my siblings and I decided to give Master and her family another chance to end the war earlier and save those that had died."

Death actually sounded sad for those they had lost and that made her smile. "I thought you would be happy Death. The more people that die, the more souls in your realm." she joked. Death chuckled, the raspy sound sounding weird coming from the eternal being.

"Death is sad for the loss of souls in his realm but, anything so Master is happy." Surprising them all, Assyria ran forward and gave Death a hug. The eternal being, not use to being shown such warm affection did not know how to respond but soon returned her embrace.

"Thank you, my friend." Death's non-existent heart warmed at the thought of having a friend, if only she knew how much her friendship meant to him.

"Everything is set for you Master. Your cover story and all. I have also taken the liberty of giving you a miniscule part of my power," Assyria felt her magical core flare, causing her and her siblings to gasp as they felt the power flow in her. She did not want to know how much power Death had if he considered this a miniscule part. A scythe like Death's also appeared in her hand.

"You will have to learn how to use your powers properly which I will teach you but, some knowledge you will find that you already possess," Death pointed at the scythe in her grasp. "The scythe will help you control your powers. It is like the elder wand so your magic will agree with it although I will say, don't use it at all times. It does look quite menacing."

"Our time is up. I will see you again Master. If you need me, you need only call and I shall appear." With that he disappeared and the siblings found themselves just in front of Gringotts, the guards looking at them funnily. Gaining an appointment with the Chief of Gringotts himself, Ragnok held out a dagger at each of them and they let three drops of their blood fall onto the parchment. Cleaning their blood off the blade, they watched as the writing appeared.

Assyria Caladwen Estelle Emrys

Lady of the Most Ancient and Imperial House of Emrys

Lady of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Ravenclaw

Vault 1, 4

Neville Alatar Fortitudo Emrys

Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor

Vault 2

Draconis Callidus Astutia Emrys

Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin

Vault 3

Luna Jadis Videns Emrys

Lady of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Hufflepuff

Vault 5

Their results did not surprise them although, they were surprised to know that they had complete control over Hogwarts. It showed that their father who was born in France was a direct descendant from the Emrys, Slytherin and Ravenclaw line but, he however did not know of his birthright. He was a pureblood but, muggle raised. Their mother was a muggleborn who came from a long line of squibs from America which entitled them to the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff titles. The siblings were very powerful in the Wizarding World, with a total of 21 seats in the Wizengamot.

They also had a backstory. Their father had been killed when they were young by a fellow wizard who had a grudge against him. Their mother followed soon after, killed by dragon pox. The siblings were immediately taken to live with their mothers muggle relatives who absolutely loathed anything  _freakish_ which included magic. They grew up in that abusive household until their Godfather came for them. Their aunt and uncle were happy to give them up, so long as those freaks were gone so they left. He taught them everything they knew until finally they came to Britain, where they were came across Death Eaters in Muggle London. Caught in the crossfire, their Godfather died, leaving the siblings by themselves.

They were given several stacks of paper of properties that they owned. Assyria chose Emrys Manor as their new home and they left Gringotts feeling better than they did before. They also requested that Ragnok send a letter to Dumbledore, letting him know that he would have four new students at Hogwarts starting on the coming Sunday. That meant they only had today and Saturday to plan. They didn't have much time to organize everything but, they couldn't afford starting at Hogwarts too late without drawing attention to themselves.

Arriving at the manor, the siblings were surprised. The manor hadn't been inhabited in decades but looked to be in good shape. Thankfully, they had 6 house elves, Winky, Flopsy, Cisly, Tarry, Bobby and Poppy. They were so happy to finally have Masters and Mistresses now and cried after receiving praise for keeping the manor in good condition. After a delicious lunch, the siblings immediately got to work. Mapping out the events that were yet to take place and the condition of the Wizarding World at the moment. Draco would look over the laws that were passed and hopefully find a way to have some of them withdrawn. Luna started gathering information on what had happened during the war so far and who were key roles in both the Light and Dark side. They however would not be fighting for Dumbledore. They had tried it his way and it only resulted in many lives lost. He was all too happy to let innocents die if it was in the name of the greater good. The Emrys siblings would not lead like that. War was ugly and Death does not discriminate on who it takes. Dumbledore would see that love does not win a war.

The siblings would slowly start collecting Tom's horcruxes but, the last one would not be hidden until early 1978 so they had until their last year at Hogwarts to build their plans, collect all his horcruxes, destroy them and then face Tom in battle. That gave them three years to convert as many people to their way of thinking as they could. They would stop many Slytherins from making the mistakes of becoming Death Eaters. Many of them like Lucius Malfoy said that they regretted their decision in following the Dark Lord. They were all for his cause but not for his methods.

Peter Pettigrew would not turn dark, Regulus Black would live. So many lives that were ruined by this war and they were attempting to save them all. From Slytherins to Gryffindors, none of them would be lost to the madman who claimed to be the heir of Slytherin. While her siblings chewed through their plans, Assyria decided to unpack. After having lived on the run for a year, she had become used to carrying all her belongings around with her so she continued even when the war was over. Then her siblings also asked her to carry their belongings around. Like she said, their were still factions of Death Eaters around who would love to kill the Girl-Who-Lived and her family.

Once she had finished unpacking, they called it a night. Use to sleeping with each other, they congregated in Neville's room, created a doggy pile of warmth and limbs before allowing sleep to take them. They had a lot to think about and do.

* * *

Arriving at Hogwarts after a stressful two days seemed surreal. Neville and Assyria had finished mapping out the events that occured and the deaths from 1975 which was the year they were currently in up until 1981 when Voldemort and Assyria's parents had originally died. The Emrys siblings were ready but knew that with their luck, their carefully laid plans would most likely fly out the window the second something happened.

They were standing outside of the Great Hall, waiting for Professor McGonagall to call for them to enter. Assyria caught their eyes and nodded. The siblings had already planned where they would be placed and only hoped that the Sorting Hat would comply with their wishes.

"Draconis Emrys"

Draco looked at his siblings before confidently walking up to the hat.

"Slytherin!" It shouted and the house of Snakes politely applauded which was to be expected of Slytherins while receiving none from the other houses.

"Neville Emrys"

Neville smiled at his siblings before walking up to the hat and put it on.

"Gryffindor."

The house of Lions cheered for their new housemate.

"Luna Emrys"

Luna squeezed her sisters hand before dancing over to the chair and putting the hat on.

"Hufflepuff."

Her siblings cheered loudly for their youngest sister.

"Assyria Emrys"

She glanced at all her siblings and offered them a small smile which they returned before gliding over to the hat confidently.

"Ravenclaw."

They each sat at their respective tables, smiling at their new housemates. Everything was going according to plan. It was Luna's idea for them to be placed in different houses as they could work their way through each house and hopefully educate them. They needed extra eyes and ears in order for their plans to work.

Draco knew how Slytherin worked so it was best for him to be placed there. Luna was placed in Hufflepuff because she was the most 'innocent' of the siblings. She could hopefully gain their loyalty. A loyal Puff is a good Puff plus, her siblings thought that the Hufflepuffs would be more accepting of her quirks which was good because the boys did not want to have to hold back their very powerful and scary sister and themselves from killing someone. Assyria couldn't be placed in Slytherin or Gryffindor because there was a high chance that she would kill them all. It wasn't that she was so cut up over the people who had taken her in after her parents died, it was more along the fact that she didn't think she could handle the young Marauders. They were too nosey and often thought that they  _deserved_ to know every secret about someone they found interesting. They were immature and honestly, she didn't want the memory of them to be tainted by their stupid adolescent decisions. If she was in Slytherin, she would kill them for so much as looking at her the wrong way and she loved the Hufflepuffs but they were too happy-go-lucky for her.

Ravenclaw suited her best. They valued smarts over anything else but did not feel the need to rub it in the others faces. Although, she did not fancy the idea of being in the same house that Cho Chang, that idiotic airhead, had been in. They were also too focused on their academics to notice if she was doing something else that involved training with a talking skeleton and stalking a certain flaming chicken organization. Neville would also be able to keep the Gryffindors on a tight leash, specifically a group of four boys who think they can do whatever they want. Their placements were purely strategic rather than based on their personality traits.

Draco sat next to Regulus Black and listened as he introduced his friends, Severus Snape and Narcissa Black. Lucius Malfoy was the current Slytherin King and was sitting with his court. He offered no reaction when seeing his parents because in this timeline they were not his parents. Death said that they existed outside of the timeline so he only had the memories of his parents from his timeline but these people were not them. He spent the rest of the dinner getting to know them especially Severus. His Godfather in another life had said that he was so bitter in his teenaged years, never wanting help from others while also cursing those who flaunted their wealth and power. He usually sat in the background, a mere shadow in a house full of heirs of Ancient and Noble Houses however, Draco was determined to show that money wasn't everything and that the background guy could be just as cunning as the rest of them. Draco loathed that he use to be exactly like those pureblood heirs. Relying on money and power when it didn't mean a thing if it tore your family apart.

Draco held out his hand towards the boy. "Hello Severus, I'm Draco."

Severus looked at the hand for a few minutes before reaching out his own and shaking it. "So Severus, what's your favourite subject?"

Severus was shocked, usually others only wanted to speak to those of pureblood or with money and he was neither yet, the new student wanted to talk to him.

"Potions with Professor Slughorn."

Draco of course, was not surprised. You don't become a Potions Master if you don't love the subject at least a little.

"Same here. Have you heard of a potion that will be able to combate the full effects of a werewolf transformation so it will be less painful and they can be more in control of their mind. I've been hearing that some guy is trying to help along with werewolf transformations."

Severus looked at him in surprise. "Really? That sounds like some hard work especially with how little is known about their race."

"It definitely would be hard. Many people think of werewolves as lesser parts of the magical race but they do not know the grievous conditions that many of them have to face. Being a werewolf is more like an illness that strikes once a month. I hope this potion isn't a rumour."

The purebloods at the Slytherin table sneered at him after hearing his words. Purebloods really did seem to have large sticks stuck up their arses and Draco used to be exactly like them but, that's why they were here. To change the Wizarding World and stop a psycho.

They spent the rest of dinner discussing the properties of this potion, lost in their own little bubble. While Draco made ties with Severus, the rest of the Emrys siblings spent time getting to know the rest of their housemates. Neville learnt that Peter was very good at Herbology like him. The Marauders were still as annoying as ever but, he had given them the benefit of a doubt. They were young and so naive and for now, he would let it go.

Neville understood that they were only 15 years old and did not know better but, sometimes he really wanted to slap some sense into them. They were so vindictive and malicious in the way they treated and thought of others especially Severus and Slytherins in general. James was so obsessed with Lily that he couldn't see that she genuinely hated him. Seeing them like this made him wonder how they could have ever gotten together in the first place. Did James change or did Lily simply give up on being chased by him? Neville wished to help them. They were hurting people and they didn't even know it. Harmless pranks had turned into full on bullying. A little fun had become a vindictive little game that they played. They didn't understand that sometimes their pranks just weren't funny but, Neville wouldn't stop until they realized what they had been doing. He wouldn't stop until Peter had real friends who actually paid attention to him. Yes, this year was going to be a hectic one.


	3. Your Secrets Have Secrets

**'Language of the Dead'**

_'Thoughts'_

* * *

Assyria Emrys made friends with a pretty dark haired girl named Maria Davids and Joseph Clearwater. Both of them were muggleborns but, Maria was unfamiliar so she could only assume that she fled during the war or she didn't survive it. Assyria however, knew Joseph's daughter. Penelope Clearwater. She had dated Percy once upon a time and was Ravenclaw Prefect. Assyria really did like Percy even when he became estranged from his family. Him and the twins were actually her favourite Weasleys.

Maria was one of her roommates and while all her roommates were nice, Maria was definitely her favourite. She knew when to not push her while the rest of their roommates seemed to think that Assyria should share her whole life story with them. They were the Ravenclaw busybodies and she just wasn't interested in opening her closet to them. They took offense to her obvious flippant mood at their attempts to get to know her but Maria keyed it up to her being tired even though she knew that she just didn't want to talk to them. They could wave the bait in her face all they wanted but she wasn't biting.

She had to admit though, the Ravenclaw common room looked much better than the Gryffindor common room with it's blue and bronze colour scheme. It was refreshing and welcoming unlike the Gryffindor common room that looked like a cannon exploded in there, leaving the red and gold mess behind. Professor Flitwick came to welcome her to Ravenclaw and give her all the ground rules. One of which was that Ravens looked after their own. Assyria called utter bullshit. Ravens looked after their own if they fit their mould. She would never forget what the so-called 'united Ravenclaws' did to her little sister. But, she told him how happy she was to be a Ravenclaw now as it sounded very welcoming. She was such a fake bitch sometimes.

The morning after their sorting, the siblings congregated at the Gryffindor table. They were talking in hushed tones and seemed to be in their own little world. The siblings were talking about what they had achieved so far. Neville had already become quite close to Peter and was attempting to stamp out the bullying tendencies of Potter and Black. Although he was at his wits end with them. Luna had made friends with Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory. Both hailing from very prominent families. Draco had challenged and beaten Lucius Malfoy for his throne and currently only had two members of his Court, Severus Snape and Regulus Black. He had started making changes to their way of thinking on blood supremacy and warfare while Assyria started drifting into the background in her house. The Emrys siblings did not want to draw unnecessary attention to her especially with Dumbledore so close.

When the other houses arrived, their eyes were immediately drawn to the four new students who didn't seem to understand the unwritten rule that was 'you have to sit with your own house at your own table.' The Slytherins arrived first, followed closely by the Ravenclaws and then the Hufflepuffs. In true Gryffindor fashion, they were all late with the Marauders being the last to arrive. Every Gryffindor was staring at them, well more like Draco. Some even fell out of their chair when they saw a Slytherin at their table. Potter and Black had a mad glint in their eyes which wouldn't go down well with the siblings. They both went to hex Draco but Neville was ready and flicked his wrist, throwing them across the room and in front of the teachers table.

"Potter, Black, I really like you two but, if you ever raise your wand to my brother again, I will end you." the siblings stood walking towards the boys and glaring down at them. "I may wear a red and gold tie now but, Emrys blood runs in my veins. Unlike others, I won't shun my siblings based on what house they're in." Ouch, low blow Nev.

Silence filled the Great Hall. Every single pair of eyes was on the four powerful siblings whose eyes seemed to glow with power. No one knew what to say or do, not even the teachers. No one seemed to know what to do with themselves after such a casual display of wandless magic that even seasoned witches and wizards like Dumbledore would have had a hard time doing.

They looked at each other before each one of them approached their Head of House for their timetables. Once they had their timetables in hand, they walked out of the Great Hall. As the door to the Great Hall was closing they heard Assyria say, "They must be idiots to think we'd turn on you because you're a Snake, Dray."

Draco rolled his eyes. "We are new so no one knows how close we really are."

"Their heads were filled with so many wrackspurts." They all stared at the youngest Emrys sibling, reminiscent smiles on their faces before continuing down the hallway, forgetting that they shouldn't know where they are going.

Regulus and Severus made eye contact before standing and following after the siblings. They were soon joined by Peter Pettigrew. Neville was his friend and the only one who seemed to want to genuinely get to know him so if he could help him find his classes then that was the least he could do. The Snakes and Lion run after the siblings who were discussing their timetables.

Assyria had Transfiguration, DADA, Charms, Potions, Runes, Herbology and Arithmancy.

Neville had Transfiguration, DADA, Charms, Potions, Herbology, History of Magic and Arithmancy.

Draco had Transfiguration, DADA, Charms, Potions, Runes, Herbology and Arithmancy.

Luna had Transfiguration, DADA, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Runes and Arithmancy.

They made it so they would have at least one sibling with them in every class. This was so they could check how thing were doing with the other and if they needed help with anything. Luna and Assyria mainly talked about the research they had been doing on Dark curses and how to counteract them. It was risky. Besides, no one would be able to understand what they were talking about.

During Transfiguration which had all four houses in one class, McGonagall was teaching them to change a match into a jewellery box. Potter and Black hadn't stopped glaring at them once during the class but, it didn't bother them at all. The siblings spoke in hushed tones, none of them attempting the exercise. Professor McGonagall was not having any of that and went over to ask why they weren't doing the work.

They looked at each other and nodded before waving their wands over their matches and watched as they turned into intricately designed and beautiful jewellery boxes. Each box was decorated with their house colours, emblem and had their name on top. Professor McGonagall gaped at the beauty of each one of their jewellery boxes and awarded their houses 10 points each for their work. She even showed their work off to the class.

"How did you do that?" Lily Evans asked them.

The siblings looked around the room and saw that everyone wanted to know, even McGonagall. "It's simply about your will. Magic is a living, breathing thing and so long as we will our magic to do something, it will do it." explained Luna.

Sirius couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean it's about your will?"

Assyria answered this time. "Well, just because you have the correct wand movements and you're pronouncing the spell correctly, does not mean you will get the result you desire which is what we mean by it requires your will."

"Magic is a life force inside of you," said Draco. "you merely have to have a will strong enough to bend it to what you want. It is not the case of saying the spell right and having the correct movements but your will and intent must be strong as well. You should try imagining what you want it to look like and will your magic to create that. You might not get it on your first try but it should become easier as you keep trying."

By the end of the lesson, two thirds of the class had managed to change their match into a jewellery box, some of them almost as beautiful as the ones the Emrys siblings created. Lily Evans and Severus Snape even asked the siblings if they could hear more about the whole concept of willing your magic to do what you wanted. It seemed the siblings had caught their attention.

"Snivellus, crying for help are you?" Potter said, sauntering over to the group, Black right beside him with Peter trying to stop them from walking over to them. Assyria smiled at Peter and his obvious spike in confidence but knew that it was pointless. Potter and Black were too pigheaded to listen to anyone but themselves.

"Shut it Potter." Snape hissed, his best friends glaring at them disgustedly.

"Awww, is little Snivellus upset?" Black taunted him.

The Ravenclaw Emrys glared at both of them, her siblings doing the same. She opened her mouth and said, "Okay, I'm sick of this shit. You, James Potter and Sirius Black are bullies. You're apparently 'in love' with Lily, right Potter? Well I'd say she'd sooner kill you than be with you and honestly, I can understand why. My family and I have only been at this school for two days and I have already come to the conclusion that both of you are pathetic little boys who think they're entitled to everything. Lily doesn't love you Potter so get over it. You think you're doing a grand gesture for her but you're only embarrassing her and yourself. Just because mummy and daddy give you everything you want does not mean you are entitled to Lily's love and affection. Did you really think bullying her best friend would put you in her good graces? And Black, I have never seen a bigger hypocrite in my life. You preach about wanting others to see you as more than a Black yet you don't offer the same courtesy to the Slytherins. Not all of them are Death Eaters, not all of them love and praise Voldemort. You want to be more than a Black but all I see is a Black. I shouldn't be surprised with the reputation your mother has for tearing down those who aren't purebloods so mummy must be proud to know that her son loves to tear down Slytherins because he has the power to do so. You are turning out _exactly_ how she wanted you to."

With that, Assyria turned away from them and walked down the hallway, her siblings following, leaving behind a surprised crowd and two very embarrassed and angry Marauders. She hoped they understood what she had said to them. James Potter and Sirius Black may have been some of the greatest pranksters to grace the halls of Hogwarts but they were bullies. Potter was so desperate to be like his auror, Light following father that he thought he was liable to punish those he thought sinful like the Slytherins and Severus Snape, not that Snape was a saint either. He also became so desperate for Lily's love that he tried to get rid of all competition even Severus by bullying them and Sirius. Sirius was so rebellious and wanted to forget who he was that he became exactly what his mother always wanted. While his sweet mother tortured muggleborns, he tortured the Slytherins. He was no better than Walburga.

Sirius and James wanted to pretend that what she had said didn't hurt and to keep denying the truth but they couldn't. They couldn't go on pretending. They couldn't even bring themselves to prank Assyria Emrys for what she had said. They had both never been more ashamed of themselves than in that moment. Was James really so selfish that he thought he was entitled to everything even Lily's love? Did Sirius really become what he was trying so hard not to? The answer was yes and it had come from a mouth of a near stranger, who knew nothing about them but still knew more about themselves than they did.

James and Sirius wondered how blind they had been and how long they had gone on feigning ignorance? They wanted to get even with her for making them think like this but knew that they would just be proving her point.

"We really are bullies, aren't we Padfoot?" asked James.

"Yeah." He replied, sighing sadly.

The best friends laid in their beds next to each other while Remus and Peter watched nearby. For the first time, it was like they were seeing themselves for who they truly were. Not that Remus or Peter were perfect because they never stopped them. If there's anything worst than being a bully, it's standing on the side and watching someone get bullied especially if you have the power to stop it. It was like the friends had looked in the mirror for the first time and were now ashamed of what they saw. Were James and Sirius popular because people genuinely liked them? Or was it because no one wanted to be pranked by them? Was Remus and Peter well liked or did people secretly talk about how much they failed in this friendship? Because a true friend called their friends out on their bullshit and Remus and Peter had not done that.

The Marauders didn't show up to any of their classes for the rest of the day nor dinner. They spent it in their dorm, not even bothering to move from their beds when Neville came in to check on them later that night. They just lay there until it was only James awake. He later fell asleep, dreaming of those violet-blue eyes that would haunt his dreams for months to come.

* * *

Everyone had heard about what had happened between Assyria and the Marauders and now she had more attention than they bargained for although she wouldn't take her words back. What she said was true and she'd be damned if she let them continue on like this. Spoiled brats had no place in a war. They couldn't just stop midway between a battle and say that they needed to use the bathroom. There was a war going on and no matter how hard Dumbledore tried to keep the war out of Hogwarts, there was nothing he could do about it. It was either them or the Death Eaters and the Death Eaters wouldn't show mercy.

Her siblings sat at the Slytherin table for dinner that night, not a single person daring to hex them after what happened that morning at breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Nott, Avery and Higgs looked like they wanted to though. She arched her eyebrow at them as if to say 'Go ahead. I dare you to'. They quickly looked away, averting their eyes from their Kings. Most people were staring at them, waiting to see what spectacle they would perform tonight but, nothing happened. They laughed, they joked and that was it. To say people were disappointed was an understatement.

Time passed quickly and soon it was Yule Break for the Hogwarts students. The Emrys siblings were ready to go home and not have to hide themselves. The last three months at Hogwarts had been uneventful except for the first few days. The siblings had built a routine for themselves. They'd eat their meals with their housemates during the week and then eat together on the weekends. They'd go to their classes and then after dinner, they'd meet up in the Room of Requirement for a report and then go to bed. The Marauders finally had some sense and became more calm. They still pranked people but now, they never took their pranks too far. Everyone could see a difference in them, even their teachers. They tried to stop being arseholes and that's all anyone could ask for.

James Potter seemed to have changed the most. You could usually find him watching a certain Ravenclaw, he did that a lot now and his friends were beginning to notice. He spent his days feeling an untameable rage and deep affection for the one girl who had managed to put him in his place but still showed a disinterest in him. The quiet Ravenclaw Emrys was too beautiful for him to not pursue her but she wasn't having any of it. Assyria was an enigma, a beautiful iridescent picture that drew him in. She had more power than she was letting on and as a Potter, he knew power when he saw it. It still didn't change the fact that he could probably have any girl he wanted besides Lily and this one girl was the one he couldn't get off his mind. Now that he had stopped chasing Lily, James wasn't sure if what he had felt for her for all those years had been real or it had simply turned into a habit that he couldn't seem to stop. Assyria wasn't interested although, he'd sworn he'd seen her check him out sometimes but there was clearly something holding her back like the rest of her siblings. Her disinterest and rejections wounded James more than anything but, James Potter wasn't anything if not persistent. He didn't want to push her or embarrass like he did with Lily but he wasn't going to give in so easily either. Assyria Emrys would be his one day.

Over Yule Break, Severus and Regulus would come to visit fairly often. Luna had already given Severus a complete makeover, cutting his hair, fixing his nose and teeth and buying him new clothes. At first, he didn't want to accept their _charity_ but knew there was no denying Luna. He looked like a completely different person. Him and Luna seemed to be becoming fast friends and Sev had now taken over Assyria in helping her find cures for Dark hexes and curses. Draco and Regulus spent their time playing Quidditch with Neville on the sideline watching them, whether he spent more time staring at Regulus is his business. Both Regulus and Draco were seekers so they would race to see who could retrieve the snitch first. Assyria spent her time in the office, going over their timeline, the laws that Draco had looked up that needed to be changed, voting anonymously in the Wizengamot with their Gryffindor and Ravenclaw seats and gathering information that they could send to the Order of the Phoenix regarding raids and families they had to save. She had officially stressed herself out and her siblings could see it. It seemed that nothing could calm her down but she didn't care if she worked herself until she collapsed, those she could save would be saved. Realistically, she knew she wouldn't be able to save anyone but it was better that she tried than to be like Dumbledore who accepted that there would be innocents lost but still did nothing to stop it from happening.

When they returned to school after Yule Break, it seemed like there were more changes. Sirius had finally talked to his brother and apologized for his behaviour towards him. The Black brothers made up and were finally happy. Many Slytherin seventh years especially those with Death Eater parents had applied for further education outside of Britain. It seemed that Draco's talk about what would eventually happen to all the purebloods if they decided to be caught between the power trip that was Dumbledore and Riddle had finally been heard and understood. Dumbledore was all too eager to send off recommendations if it meant the Dark Side and Tom had a dwindling number of recruits.

The four siblings were seated at the Ravenclaw table that night after a long first week at Hogwarts after coming back from Yule Break and had observed the changes. Regulus was happier now that he had his brother back. They were now trying to see what they could do to get Regulus out of Grimmauld Place. Peter was happy that he finally had a friend who liked him for himself and not because he was friends with James and Sirius, the Marauders were different. Sev was finally getting the recognition and appreciation he deserved and well, the Emrys siblings were just happy for once.

"It seems our plans are working." Assyria remarked.

Her siblings nodded their heads. "It's going exactly to plan but, let's not jinx it by saying what could possibly go wrong?" Neville said causing his siblings to groan.

"Really Nev? You just said it."

Neville groaned. "I just messed things up, didn't I?"

The siblings all silently prayed to Mother Magic that was up there or in Assyria's case, Death, to spare them. They already had enough work and did not need extra stress to be added on top. She should have known that Death liked trouble.

It was a week later when Assyria was training with Death in the Room of Requirement that Fate (Death cursed his sister afterwards) threw them a curve ball. Assyria already knew how to speak the Language of the Dead, had successfully brought a rabbit to life after killing it by simply looking at it although the people she brought back to life would act like her mindless minions and she did not want that, learnt Death's form of transportation called shadowstepping that he said she could teach her siblings and had learnt how to steal someones soul like a dementor. Admittedly, having the power to suck someones soul and in doing so, their magic out of their body made her feel a little freaky for lack of a better word but she understood that it was a branch of Death magic. Now she was learning how to use her scythe properly and to channel her magic through it so her spells could be more powerful. It was hard-work and was not as easy as using a wand.

She was attempting another spell when Death spoke up, interrupting her. "Master, I shall await their souls in my realm."

She looked at him confused. Sometimes Death said the most daft things. "What do y-"

"Assyria, come quick!" Lily shouts, shuddering as she ran in. Assyria looked to where Death was to see that he and her scythe had disappeared.

"Lils! What's wrong!? and how did you know I was here?" She asked, frantically trying to get her to calm down.

She looked at Lils to see her red cheeks and clenched fists. She looked like she had been in a fight and Assyria didn't take that as a good sign. "It's Draco and Neville. You need to come quick!"

Grabbing her bag, they run out of the Room of Requirement. She followed behind Lily who was running towards the Great Hall. When they ran in, it was utter chaos. Draco and Neville were being held back by Regulus, Sev and the Marauders. There were no Professors there except for the Divination teacher, Professor Samuels who was shaking and trying to help someone who was laying on the floor. The tables and chairs were pushed to the sides. Avery, Nott and Higgs stood on one side of the Hall with her brothers on the other.

She walked towards her brothers when her eyes brushed over the sprawled out body on the floor by Samuels. Seeing who it was, she froze, her eyes narrowed on her brothers before turning to glare at the three smirking Slytherins.

'What the fuck!' she thought.

**'It was Nott Master.' Death said in her mind. 'He and his friends poisoned Miss Luna and brought her here. He wanted Mister Draco to come but when he and Mister Neville arrived, they saw her on the floor and lost it.**

**'They also used the Cruciatus Curse on her Master.'**

To say Assyria was pissed would be an understatement, she was fucking livid. **'Please tell me she will be fine Death.' she said.**

**'She is only wounded Master. She will live.' Death replied to her.**

**'Good now I have some killing to do.' He smirked in her mind and even chuckled a little. 'I shall await their souls Master.'**

She glared at the Slytherins, a small bit of her magic seeping into the Hall. Gasps were heard from everyone there who felt it except for her brothers who stopped struggling and allowed smirks to appear on their faces. Draco and Neville knew that blood was going to be paid. The Slytherins faltered for a bit before resuming their cocky stances. Nott smirked and went to taunt her but before he could say anything, she appeared in front of him out of nowhere, grabbed his throat and using his body weight rolled him over and slammed him into the floor. Assyria used her magic to pin his friends against the wall to helplessly watch as she killed their friend.

A knife was pressed into Notts neck and he whimpered a little when he saw the blood lust rolling off her in waves. A lust for his blood. "You dare to hurt my family, Nott."

She lifted him up in front of her with ease as she stood. Her hand tightened around his throat, slowly blocking his airways. He struggled against her hold but couldn't escape her strong grip. Violet eyes glared at him, shocking him with the sheer power that swirled in them that he may have pissed himself. "Let him go Miss Emrys." Dumbledore said, staring at the scene in front of him wide-eyed.

Assyria rolled her eyes. "Sorry Dumbledore but you have no right to tell me what to do. This is a matter between the Ancient and Imperial House of Emrys and the Noble House of Nott. Do not overstep your power. You may be the Headmaster but you have no power in our Houses."

"Now you listen here Miss Emr-" He was cut off by a knife that was embedded right next to his head and the glares from the Emrys siblings. The Professors gasped at their behaviour.

"You have no business in matters between two Houses Dumbledore. Stop trying to overstep your power," she turned back to the boy in front of her that was slowly losing consciousness. "but, I shall leave this matter for now." Assyria loosened her grip on his throat then threw him onto the ground. He gasped for air and rubbed at his throat. Nott's friends rushed to his side once Assyria's magic relented.

Her brothers walked to stand next to her, letting a small bit of their magic loose as well. They glared down at the Slytherins on the floor who looked like they were going to shit their pants. Their friends had to admit that in that moment, the siblings looked undeniably beautiful. "Don't think we're going to let this go Nott. You hurt one of our own. If my sister dies so do you but even if she doesn't, you're still dead. You will pay for your actions with your heart." the siblings strutted towards them causing the Snakes to quickly shuffle back. "You have until she recovers to say goodbye to your family and friends."

Nott and his followers rushed out of the Great Hall and the siblings rushed to the Hufflepuff Emrys on the floor. Madam Pompfrey was there now. Neville bent down to pick Luna up without disturbing her wounds too much. They followed Madam Pompfrey out of the Great Hall. As they walk past Dumbledore, Assyria pulled her knife out and sheathed it back on her waist, not giving the Hogwarts Headmaster a second glance.

The school was reeling after happened with Nott. After the incident, no one had seen the siblings or Nott. There were theories of what was going to happen but, Peter already knew. Thadeus Nott was going to die. And he had a feeling Assyria Emrys was going to enjoy every last minute of it. Apparently Dumbledore was trying to look into a trial process for the attempted murder of Heir Nott but even Peter knew that wasn't going to work. This was between two Ancient Houses and the DMLE would not be able to interfere.

"She was pretty darn scary, wasn't she?" Sirius said as he and his friends walked towards the Gryffindor common room after a few days without seeing the siblings.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yes Padfoot. We have already established that she was scary."

"It just surprised me, that's all, Moony. The quiet, tame and innocent Ravenclaw lost her shit." He replied.

Peter opened his mouth and said, "I don't think she was ever quiet, tame and innocent, Padfoot. Anyone who looked hard enough can see that she's their leader, kind of like how James is ours. They always look to her for approval in everything. I'm surprised she didn't just kill him for what he did. She's extremely loyal to her brothers and sister and that love is only matched by her wrath for those who cross her. Besides, did you see her? It looked like she was going to murder Nott right there in front of everyone." Peter knew that he would rather die by the hand of Voldemort than face Assyria. He'd face any of the Emrys siblings as long as he wouldn't have to face Assyria. The Snakes who had the Dark Mark had left him alone now that he was friends with Neville and he was happy for that. He wouldn't let himself be swayed to their side because he was scared. Joining Voldemort would mean betraying his friends and since Neville was his friend, he knew that Assyria would personally deal with him especially if joining the Dark put her brother in danger. It was either see a flash of green before dying by the hand of Voldemort or be utterly destroyed by Assyria Emrys who frankly scared the shit out of him more than the Dark Lord.

James wistfully sighed, obviously thinking about the Ravenclaw girl. "She's amazing isn't she?" His friends looked at him weirdly as if to say 'Are you okay up there?' but let it go. They were use to his unusual taste in the opposite sex and his weird obsession with the Emrys girl. At first they were concerned that he was using her to somehow get over Lily Evans but even the friends could see the difference between his love for Lily compared to his feelings for Assyria. With Lily, he was always daring. Going out of his way to embarrass the girl until she'd want to strangle him. He never faltered and was so sure of himself when it came to Evans but with Assyria, it was like he didn't know what to do. The Marauders had noticed his unintentional staring during almost every moment where they were in the same room. He found it difficult to even speak to her even though he once stood on the Gryffindor Table and professed his love for Lily in front of the entire student body. James Potter for once, was shy and confused. It had become painfully obvious that the boy was a lost puppy following after his Master.

James however knew that she thought low of him after their altercation at the start of the year. That's why he had tried so hard to show everyone that he could change. He had apologized to Snape and they were now on an impasse with each other. He had gone as far as to say sorry to Draco for being a downright arse to him and for trying to hex him. They were actually really good friends now to the surprise of everyone. That's right. James Fleamont Potter, a proud Gryffindor had willingly befriended a Slytherin. She was still flippant of him and his efforts although Draco had him convinced that she was like that with everyone.

Draco had been racing through the halls back to the Hospital Wing when he came across the Marauders. He immediately had their attention and his eyes sought out the familiar grey eyes that once upon a time were identical to his own. Sirius Black was about just as cocky as Draco was and it excited him. Someone who was hot and knew it was someone that he was interested in. Besides, imagine all the people who would be jealous seeing them together. They had talked a few times and he had enjoyed talking to the Black Heir. His mother's cousin was indeed intelligent which was to be expected of a son of the Black House. Even if he was a little prejudice but he would change that.

"Hey Draco," James said, him and his friends walking towards him. "how's your sister?"

Draco knew that James was  _very_ interested in his sister but Ri wasn't interested, according to the school. Him and his siblings however, knew their older sister though. She liked him. It was blatantly obvious to them but her stubbornness and obliviousness could hold out for awhile so he knew that they might be waiting awhile before they got together. If they ever got together. Plus, his sister had it stuck in her mind that James was only using her to get over Lily. He would have been inclined to agree if he hadn't been watching the boy and his behaviour around her.

"Which one? The one currently recovering in the Hospital Wing or the one you're hopelessly pining after?" He let a smirk cross his face at seeing his friends very red cheeks.

"I'm talking about Luna you git!" His friends laughed at him.

Draco smiled. "She's fine mate. Said that she should be waking up soon."

He only nodded before tentatively asking, "And Assyria?"

Draco sighed. "Still very much angry. Nott better watch his back because my sister might just stab him."

"Yeah. She was a little scary," James said. "...and sexy." He muttered under his breath but they all heard him from the snorts coming from their mouths and words of agreement from Sirius that earned him a slap on the back of his head from James and a glare from Draco.

"She's super protective of us like unhealthily protective sometimes. She'd die for us if she had to but she most definitely is not what she seems. You saw her in the Great Hall. Going after us is going after her and let's just say that when she retaliates, she leaves nothing behind except blood." Draco replied, a slight pout on his lips.

Draco knew that he probably shouldn't be saying this, especially to the Marauders but, if his siblings had decided to give a big fuck you to their plans then he was most definitely going to follow suit. If one of them was going to do something stupid then they were all going to gladly follow them. Plus, he was tired. He needed someone to talk to and it seemed that his brain had chosen the four boys in front of him. They were all carrying so many burdens and while Draco was an amazing strategist, he wasn't his sister. She had an iron grip on her magic and anger so for her to let even a small bit of her magic free in front of an audience that included Dumbledore, then she had a plan up her sleeve. He did not know what it was but he knew that he would follow her even if she led them into the deepest pits of Hell.

"I thought she was the quiet, tame one." muttered Sirius. Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"We never said she was, everyone just assumed." he replied.

James sighed. "Your secrets have secrets, don't they?," he said. "but I'm interested."

Draco smirked at his friend. Ri had James wrapped around her little finger and he didn't even know it, did he? Turning to Sirius and deciding that he could do what he wanted, Draco leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek before strutting off and saying goodbye. He heard the shouts at him to come back from a clearly interested and hopefully aroused Sirius but kept his back straight and walked around the corner but not before sending him a fleeting wink. Yup, they were definitely throwing a big 'fuck you' to their plans.

_Merlin help us._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More insight about Peter seen. Introducing James and Assyria and Sirius and Draco. I really liked the idea of Draco being with someone as cocky as him and James liking the girl who made him want to be a better person. He's not perfect but as you can see, he is trying. More insight on the death of the Potters coming up and their deaths.


	4. Replacement? No Thanks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More insight on Assyria's life and the role the Potters had in it. Hopefully it made more sense and there might be some chapters before we see her actually go against Nott, that arsehole. She is still very much confused about James although as you can see, she is very stubborn and focused on the war so their relationship will take time aswell. Assyria isn't one to let her heart cloud her head especially when a war is going on. She has to focus on their plans and ending Tom.

* * *

To say that Assyria was frustrated would be an understatement. When Death gave them this second chance, she didn't think that seeing the people who sacrificed themselves for her would cause her so much trouble. Lily and James Potter. Parents of Harry Potter. Saviour of the Girl-Who-Lived. She doesn't remember much of them but the older Sirius told her the story enough times for her to recite it without trying. Assyria Emrys had just banished Voldemort and needed a safe place to live. The Potters had a son the same age as her so Dumbledore gave her to them and they went into hiding. Death Eaters were still reeling after their Masters death and killing her seemed like the only way to avenge him. They went to Godrics Hollow and lived happily for over a year when the Death Eaters came.

They came during the night. All Assyria remembers is screaming and bright colours. James Potter was the first to die after taking a few of them down with him. Lily Potter followed soon after, dying to protect her children as she put it. They killed Harry for crying too loud. Those bastards. Then they came for her but before they could kill her, her Godfathers arrived. Sirius and Remus were distraught but happy that she had survived. Sirius spent the next 12 years of his life in Azkaban, Moony spent those years in exile and away from her because he thought he was a monster and Assyria at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whining with her 'family'. For a lot of her Hogwarts years, all she could think about was how it was her fault that they had died. Everyone hailed her as their Saviour but she thought the real heroes was the family who died protecting her. Her adoptive brother would have attended Hogwarts with her, probably be in Gryffindor with her aswell. Her guilt stayed with her until she met Padfoot and Moony. They both loved her despite being the reason why their best friends were dead. They told her everything about her adoptive parents. And while she missed and loved the two sets of parents that had died to protect her, Sirius and Remus would always be her true parents. They had given her a family, a rather unconventional one but a family nonetheless and she'd always love them for that.

She loved her life with them in it and then they died aswell. Leaving Assyria to care for a young Teddy who she missed more than anything. So much death, all because of some stupid war. All because Dumbledore and Riddle couldn't see that their war was killing the Wizarding Race because they couldn't reach a compromise. Their power struggle was losing lives. She didn't like either of them.

And now, she receives another letter from a very determined person who could not seem to take a hint. James Potter was, is, persistent. Flirting with her every chance he got. Staring at her whenever they were in the same room. Too bad she wasn't interested. He only stopped pursuing Lily four months ago and she wasn't going to be The Chosen One he uses to fill the void in his life. No thanks. Assyria Emrys wasn't interested in being another notch on his belt or just another girl he flirts with. She wasn't interested in having a quick snog in the broom cupboard. She wanted something real and she didn't think he'd be able to give her that. No matter how much her siblings told her that she liked him or Draco told her that he wasn't looking for a fling.

Assyria had been desperately trying to avoid the boy. He may have been her adoptive father, once upon a time but, she didn't know him. She had spent her Hogwarts years missing the mere idea of the two sets of parents she had lost to Voldemort but that's the thing, it was only the idea of him. She didn't have a lifetime of memories where she had laughed, lived and cried with him unlike with Sirius and Remus. Assyria didn't know him but if she was being honest with herself, she was proud of the boy, man that she had seen change over the time spent at Hogwarts.

James was full of life and laughter. He had matured some, stopped bullying Severus and stopped seeing everything so black and white in the world. His pranks made her laugh like nothing but she always fought with herself on showing emotion when he pranked someone. No matter how much on the inside she is cackling and laughing so loud that she thought people could still hear her. To her, James Fleamont Potter had too many unknown factors for her to want to jump in the deep end with him and see where it led them. He was confident, happy and people flooded to him like mosquitoes to a light. His hazel eyes constantly glowed with mirth with a sinful body that distracted Assyria constantly. He was loyal to his friends, family and house. James was lethal, funny but stubborn. Definitely stubborn. She constantly ignored him, avoided him and sometimes outright refused him. Although she never called him names or mentally abused him. Sometimes, thoughts of being the only person James Potter was in love with was appealing but then she'd remember Lily and those thoughts would disappear.

James Potter was bad for her. He confused her mind, body and heart. She wanted to jump in his arms and kiss him until the memories of the war disappeared. She wanted to consume him completely and for him to do the same. She wanted him to love her and only her. She wanted the list of people he had unwavering loyalty for to include her. She wanted his heart. Assyria however knew that wasn't possible. She could not have his love when he had just finished chasing Lily for years and she could not have his heart, knowing that another had it. James loved Lily with every fibre of his being and she refused to be his rebound. All Assyria would be was the rebound, the girl to help James Potter fill the hole his Lily-flower left behind, and she certainly didn't have time to be heartbroken over a boy. Her and her siblings had a war to win, students to educate on the reality that was death and focus on Tom and Dumbledore. Besides, one James Potter had already died because it was in his nature to protect those around him and this James Potter was the same. He'd die protecting her even when she didn't need protection. She and her siblings had firmly placed themselves on the front line in this war and she wouldn't make him place himself right next to her.

She was muttering unintelligent things in parseltongue when there was a knock on her bedroom door. The siblings had decided to move back to Emrys Manor when they moved Luna from Hogwarts to St. Mungos. Madam Pomfrey said that there wasn't much she could do now and that all she needed to do was wake up.

"Another letter?" Neville asked, staring at the unopened envelope in her hand.

She nodded before throwing the letter in rubbish bin with the others sent. Neville sighed before reaching in the bin and plucking the letter right off the pile. "Why don't you just read it? It can't hurt to at least read one of them."

"I'm not interested in being his replacement because Lily doesn't love him." She replied, her brother frowning after hearing her words.

"How do you know he's using you to get over Lily? He could be serious about his feelings."

Assyria rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that. He stopped pursuing her four months ago. That's a little fast to move on from someone you claimed to love with everything, don't you think?"

Neville sighed, "I don't want you to shut yourself off from him. To you it may seem fast but, I've seen the way he looks at you and acts around you. Hell everyone has seen the way he looks at you."

"We're in a war Nev. I don't have time for puppy love, I'm more focused on beating Snakeface." Despite the tension Neville couldn't help but chuckle when hearing the nickname they made up for Tom in their fourth year.

"And killing Ol' No-nose is important but you're right. This is a war and we may not survive it. Don't you want to die knowing that you loved someone with your whole heart?," Neville sat down next to her, gave her James letter and a small hug. "Don't isolate yourself. We're in a war and James is a powerful wizard. It would be good to have him and the rest of the Marauders on our side."

He stood up and left her to her thoughts. A small part of her wanted to let herself go but it wasn't safe. She couldn't love someone and win a war. He would only distract her from the task in front of her. A task that she might not get through. Looking down at the letter, she decided to open it. No harm could be done from reading a letter.

Once open, a light emitted from the paper then she heard James voice and saw what looked like the Great Hall.

"Since you're not here to see this love," James said, showing his face for a brief moment before focusing back on the entrance to the Great Hall. "Let's just say that they deserve this and more those bastards."

Nott, Avery and Higgs burst into the room, each of them wearing dresses and their skin blue and bronze. Their eyes narrow in on the laughing Marauders and they walk over to them. Opening their mouths, they go to yell but the only words that come out is, "I love Ravenclaw" for Avery and Higgs while Nott said, "I pissed myself because of a Ravenclaw." The three Slytherins immediately started yelling more, another string of inappropriate sentences coming from their mouths.

Before Assyria knew it, she was laughing so hard, with tears rolling down her face. Her brothers heard her, both of them happy to hear their sister laugh again. James face returned to the frame after Nott and his band of idiots stomped away. "That was for you and Luna love. I hope she's okay and gets better soon..."

James face turned serious and Assyria knew he was about to say something that would change everything. "I-I miss you, you know that right? Even if you don't give me the time of day and don't like me very much, I still at least miss seeing your face even if most of the time you can't even look at me." He sounded so sad that Assyria felt a part of her heart clench.

"I just wanted you to know that I will always be here for you even if it's only as a friend. I know you don't return my feelings but, I just wanted to tell you that I'm more than willing to give up anything even if it's just to see you happy to see me or actually smile at me," James eyes closed briefly. "I sound like an idiot, don't I? Well I just want you to know that I hope everything is okay. Bye." The light disappeared along with James. She sat there staring at the paper in front of her briefly lost.

In a mere matter of minutes, James Potter had successfully fucked with her mind and now she was at a lost. She didn't know what to do. Winning the war was important to her and she'd be damned if she let love get in the way of her beating Tom again and saving all those innocent people. People she had loved in her first lifetime and lost. She wanted James. She wanted all of him but now wasn't the time for things like that. Lord Voldemort was going to die by her hand...again.

Throwing his letter back into the bin, Assyria decided it was time to sleep her feelings for the Potter Heir away. Feelings wouldn't do her any good in this war. She may be running, well more like sprinting away from her feelings but, she wouldn't be a naive girl that thought love could win this war or at least help her survive it. She wasn't stupid enough to think that James would stick around or that he had gotten over Lily so easily. She wasn't naive. She was a Ravenclaw and Ravenclaws looked at every angle before making a decision and there were too many uncertainties. She had been a fool in her last lifetime and she wasn't going to play that role again. Whatever game James was playing, she most certainly wasn't going to roll the dice.


	5. Death Would Be A Much More Welcoming Sight

She had been back at Hogwarts for a few hours now and she was already feeling a little homesick. The whole time they had been in the past, well, it's the present now, she had always been surrounded by her siblings. Allowing the happiness and joy they constantly brought her to cloud the utter and deep despair she felt in her chest. Faces flashed in her mind as she sat in the Astronomy Tower looking down at the students below. Bubblegum coloured hair, stormy grey eyes that had a slightly haunted look because of the years in Azkaban, a face littered with scars but with eyes fill of kindness. Abrooding, sarcastic man who sacrificed his life to save many. They all represented people she had lost and missed.

Fiery red hair, splattering of freckles and mirth filled eyes was the current image she saw in her mind. A boy who was the exact copy of another except that one was missing an ear and the other was dead, probably playing pranks on everyone in the afterlife with the Marauders and always getting on Death's nerves. Fred Weasley. Forge. Freddie. My friend. My brother. She missed him. Him and George were the first friends she had made. The twins always had a way of making her laugh which is why when Fred died, it affected her as much as it did George. They always use to say that they thought she was their long lost triplet sister.

"I miss you Freddie." she said to herself, letting some of the more stubborn tears run down her cheeks.

James was by himself today. The rest of the Marauders had opted to going to Hogsmede while he decided to stay behind. Walking around with his invisbility cloak on, he thought of where he could go and decided on the one place that he went to when he wanted to be alone and think. The Astronomy Tower. He would never admit it to anyone but, he was practically heartbroken when Assyria didn't reply to any of his letters. At first he thought that maybe they were really busy trying to care for Luna but when Draco and Neville replied to him, he knew she just didn't want to reply to him.

Assyria Emrys. Even thinking about her made him shudder with delight. She was unlike any girl he had ever met and that is why he was so taken with her. He knew he was selfish. He had to be if he had spent the last five years chasing a girl who hated him but, he wanted her. He wanted her entire being. He wanted to be apart of the list of people she deeply cared for. James wanted to yell at himself that he was being exactly like he was with Lily but this seemed different. Felt different. These feelings felt more real.

Walking up the stairs to the Tower, he hadn't noticed the star of his dreams until he heard her speak of a guy named Freddie. Freddie, he muttered under his breath. Who was this Freddie? Too busy brooding, he didn't notice the violet-blue eyes locked onto his invisible being until her words broke the deep trance he was in where he was silently planning the death of this Freddie (How ironic?!?) but also chastising himself.

"He was the first friend I ever made." His head snapped up to stare at the girl looking in his direction. Can she see him, he silently thought. "It's you James, isn't it?"

James contemplated sneaking away but instead chose to take off his invisibility cloak. "Yeah. Sorry, I didn't know anyone was up here."

She curtly nodded before turning back to the view of the clear sky and laughing students walking towards Hogsmede. He hesitated before rushing over and plopping himself next to her.

"So Freddie... You two known each other for a long time?" Assyria locked eyes with him before nodding her head yes to his question. He mentally congratulated himself for getting even a sliver of the mysterious backstory.

"Like I said, he was the first friend I ever made." A light smile flittered across her face. "Him and his twin brother, George. It all started when they tried to hex my hair but I deflected it and they had bright pink hair for the entire week. After that they tried their hardest to try and prank me until I pranked them instead so they'd understand that if they got me then I'd get them back harder."

He chuckled lowly, a bright smile on his face. "What did you do?"

"I spelled them so they'd have a wet dream about our Headmaster and then the next morning, I spelled them again so whenever they'd look at our Headmaster, they'd see him naked," a full blown laugh was heard from James. "It lasted for two whole weeks before I made it look like someone else had done it. They found out a few weeks later that it was me and we became inseparable even if they were two years above me."

By the end of her story, James was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face. "What happened to them?"

The smile on her face disappeared and her eyes began to well up with unshed tears. "George is still back home where we're from and Fred. Fred was killed, about a year ago actually. We use to say that we were meant to be triplets and then it suddenly changed from the three of us to the two of us. From triplets to twins."

"Sometimes I hate Death for coming for my loved ones but then I remember the pain and suffering that many of them faced while they were living and can't help but feel that Death would be a much more welcoming sight than the world we live in."

He watched as she looked out at the Hogwarts grounds, tears silently falling. James was happy to have gotten a small glimpse behind the many walls and layers that made up Assyria Emrys. Admittedly, he was a little uncomfortable being around such serious and slightly morbid feelings but he felt that since he had first admitted to wanting the other teen, he was making some progress with her right now. He didn't realize how long he had been staring at her until they were staring intently into each others eyes. Suddenly, she was standing and pulling on the jacket that she had lain over her legs.

Assyria laughed noticing the look of discomfort on James face but she was happy for the small moment of laughter. As the years went on for the siblings, their lives would become more dangerous but she was grateful that James was here to help her gather her thoughts. She smiled and waved at him before walking to her dorm room to mirror call her brothers.

Neville answered the feel of his mirror heating up and saw the look on his sisters face and what looked like tear streaks. His worry immediately increased tenfold because although he knew that she said she was okay, the deaths from the Battle of Hogwarts still haunted her. She would constantly have nightmares and wouldn't be able to sleep unless she was to sleep with one of them.

"You okay?" He asked. She smiled and nodded her head that she was fine. He, of course, didn't believe her one bit but would accept her excuse for now.

"How are things?"

Neville shrugged. "We should be back by next week Wednesday." A feral grin appeared on her face which made Neville a little excitement for what was going to happen to Nott Jr. That asshole deserved it.

"Great. I'll owl Lord Nott and see if he will be available on Wednesday for our wizards duel," she replied. "I can finally shut Nott Jr up for good and the perfect thing is, it's legal and the ICW can do nothing about it."

Neville grinned. "Exactly. How's things at school?"

Neville saw the emotions flash across his sister's face. "It's okay... I didn't go Hogsmede so I'm in my dorm."

"And James?" he asked her.

"What about James?"

He rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wanted to wring her neck. "Well have you seen him or not?"

"Yeah. We talked for a little this morning. So we have to figure out a way to get the information we have to The Order? I'm not entirely sure how we do that." She said, trying to change the subject. Neville wouldn't usually let this go but decided to, for now as they had more pressing matters to discuss.

"Why don't we ask Fawkes to deliever the messages for us? She's a Light creature so they will no doubt believe her if she says that an attack is coming?" She thought over Neville's words. He was right. They would believe Fawkes more likely than if they just sent anonymous messages to them but, she wasn't sure whether they should trust Fawkes. She could easily betray them to the old goat and the Order which is something they didn't want.

"I'll think about it. If I come up with a better idea, then I'll tell you." They talked some more after that. About the certain laws that were being passed in the Wizengamot, how they could fool Dumbledore some more and about James and her which did not make Assyria comfortable at all so she decided to bring up Neville's obvious crush on Regulus Black.

"I don't have a crush on him!" He exclaimed, his red cheeks suggesting otherwise.

Assyria rolled her eyes. "Yes, sorry. It must have been another person that I see staring at him whenever he's around." she replied sarcastically.

Neville's face and neck was now a bright red colour, his embarrassment at being caught on his face. He muttered shut up under her breath before deciding to talk about something else, anything else would be good as long as he didn't have to talk about his crush on the youngest Black. Regulus Arcturus Black he thought, was someone that Neville greatly admired. A teenaged boy that decided to go against the Dark Lord knowing that he would have most likely not live through the ordeal was a boy that young Neville admired greatly as although he was a Slytherin, that was a very Gryffindor thing of him to do. Neville found that he really liked being able to break Regulus' pureblood mask and he did it often just to give himself a kick of confidence and mirth.

They spoke until it was time for Assyria to go to the Great Hall for dinner. She said goodbye and left for dinner. Arriving in the Great Hall, she felt a little smug when the chatter was immediately silenced. Her eyes glanced at the occupants of the Slytherin table until her eyes settled on an extremely pale Nott. She smiles at him with a predatory glint in her eyes which makes everyone who saw wary and uncomfortable. She held his gaze until she was sitting at the Ravenclaw table with her friends, a smile on her face.

Things were finally looking up.

When Sirius Black, Regulus Black and Remus Lupin saw Assyria Emrys appear at dinner in the Great Hall, they felt an unexplainable happiness well up inside of them before their happiness was immediately crushed when they saw that she had shown up by herself which meant that the rest of the siblings weren't back. Remus was sad but concerned. Usually he felt Moony in the back of their mind but ever since Luna had been taken from Hogwarts, he had disappeared and Remus felt oddly empty without him there.

The Black brothers were most definitely not feeling sad and disappointed that certain Emrys siblings were still missing in action. No, they were Blacks and Blacks didn't feel things as fickle as emotions but, they still couldn't help feeling crushed. After the siblings had confessed to themselves and each other that they both harboured a deep desire and need for certain members of the Emrys family, they had begun to become more open about what they felt and after a brief look into each others eyes, they both saw the sorrow and longing there. They thought they were going to lose their minds if those stupid boys didn't return to Hogwarts soon and if there is one thing that is worst than a crazy Black, it's two crazy Blacks.

Severus Snape could see that his friend was miserable without Neville here. He didn't know what exactly the depth of his feelings were but he would be there to hopefully try and placate the anger and annoyance that was sure to roll off him in waves if someone so much as looked at him the wrong way. Seeing the look on his friends face he sighed before silently standing and walking over to the Ravenclaw table, intent on asking after Neville. Regulus watched as his usually passive friend glided over to the Ravens and began talking to Assyria. After a few minutes, his friend returned with something in his hand.

Sitting back down in his seat, he handed Regulus a small mirror. Regulus wondered if this was his friend saying that something was wrong with his face but decided to raise a single eyebrow. "She said to say the name of _who_ you want to speak. He might not answer straight away but she said to keep trying. She also said that once you're done to pass it on to your brother."

A grateful smile appeared on his face when he realized what the mirror was so he eagerly started eating his dinner, forgoing all pureblood etiquette. Noting his excitement, Severus decided to eat slower to spite his friend. A few glares, choice words and hexes later they left the Great Hall. Severus had to spend the next hour listening to the incessant shy flirting between the Emrys and Black teens. He silently prayed to Mother Magic to give him strength to not grab the mirror and throw it at the wall. He also prayed that Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew would also have to go through the same torture and a few hours later, he got his wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The four main couples have now been revealed. I know many thought that Snape would be with Luna but, I decided to put her eccentric, accepting and happy self with the self hating Remus Lupin. I just thought that they would go well together. Neville and Regulus were also a couple that I had to put a lot of thought into. Neville really admired Regulus after hearing what he had done and at times sees himself in the other boy. I feel like they really balance each other. I've always found Neville to be such an expressive person which is why I paired him with someone who was in Sirius words 'a perfect little Death Eater.' Neville is like Regulus expressive counterpart and Regulus is the passive thinker of the pair. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin. I just love it.


	6. Oh Little Nott

Assyria had come to the conclusion that there was no other way for her to get their information to the Order except through Fawkes. She had briefly thought about using her familiar, Enya or her own animagus form but thought better of it. Enya was a rare breed of magical snake, a mix between a Black Mamba and a basilisk which was already rare in itself. Her animagus form was a pure black wolf, something that her and Moony would often bond over and Padfoot would cry thinking that Moony was her favourite godfather. Her animagus form had an emerald shine to her coat and violet eyes. They named her Accalia which means she-wolf in Latin. No one in the Order would trust a wolf or a snake especially a snake. They'd think that Voldemort sent a spy or someone to kill them. This was most disconcerting as she was unsure if Fawkes could be trusted but decided that she would have to try at least so she waited until Dumbledore had left the school before making her move.

Using a phoenix summoning ritual that she found in a magical creatures book from the restricted section in the library, she made her way to the Room of Requirement and started the ritual. Assyria sat herself in the middle of the room, a small altar in front of her. She relinquished the strong hold she had on her magic and allowed it to fully wrap itself around the altar in front of her. The ritual required her to let her magic reign free as her magic had to be strong enough to even think about calling Fawkes to her. She knew that it would have been easier to just walk into the Headmasters Office but she didn't know what kind of security he had and which portraits in there could be trusted. Probably none of them. Once everything was ready, she began to chant.

_"Venite ad me unus O Magna_

_Audi me voca_

_Obsecro vos clamabitis amet_

_Quoniam opus est vestra sapientia"_

The altar began to glow a bright orange and red colour which reminded her of a warm sunset. Her chanting became louder and louder as she pushed more of her magic into the altar. Just as she was getting a little lightheaded, the bright colours burst and perched on the altar in front of her was Fawkes, who was silently assessing her which kind of creeped her out because a bird shouldn't look like that.

"Hi Fawkes," she greeted tentatively, her hand reaching out and gently petting him. "do you think you could help me with something?"

Fawkes continued to stare at her before letting out a high trill and nodding his head. "Thanks Fawkes. I was wondering if I could call on you to help my siblings and I pass on information to the Order?" Assyria was silently praying in her head that her trust wasn't misplaced. Please don't be misplaced is all she could think.

He nodded his head again before leaning towards her and nuzzling her neck. She giggles before thanking Fawkes over and over again. After leaving the Room of Requirement, she felt much better now that they could move forward with aspects of their plans and knowing that by the end of that night, the information they had would save one of their fellow Hogwarts students muggle parents from those filthy Death Eaters.

* * *

The Order of the Phoenix was a sort of vigilante group whose main goal was to combat against Voldemort and his forces but Albus Dumbledore could only focus on the information that Fawkes had so gratefully given him. Everyone assumed that Fawkes was his familiar which wasn't true. Fawkes was more like a very powerful friend who held loyalty to no one.

A surprise attack? and on Mr. Smith's parents? He wasn't so sure whether to trust this information but he did trust Fawkes. Although he was a little skeptical about where Fawkes got his information from but, he would follow the information no matter what. He cut off whatever Gideon Prewett was saying to announce what Fawkes had told him.

"I have an announcement. It seems Fawkes has information that there will be an attack tonight against Mr. Michael Smith, a muggleborn in Ravenclaw's parents." He announced to the room. Soon after his announcement, the room turned into absolute chaos with many of them wishing to leave right away.

Euphemia Potter had a question however. "Albus, where did Fawkes get this information?" she asked with the others agreeing. He looked towards Fawkes who only stared at him blankly, making him sigh.

"I am not sure where he has gotten this information from but I think we should listen to him." This received nods from the rest of the Order as Alastor Moody, Fabian and Gideon Prewett and many others of the Order all disapparated to somewhere outside London, watching the Smith's house. They had been waiting about ten minutes when they saw the first Death Eaters arrive. Smirks appeared on many of the Order members faces as the twelve Death Eaters that were there were ambushed by the Order. The fight lasted 15 minutes as the Death Eaters were too outnumbered.

* * *

The Daily Prophet covered the story the next day with Smith missing from his usual place down the table from her and her friends. Assyria was happy that innocent people were spared and that Michael could now grow up with his parents instead of losing them at age 12. His parents were innocent and did not deserve to die during the First Wizarding War like last time.

She was celebrating inside her head when their was a loud commotion heard coming from outside the Great Hall. Looking back at her food, she heard as the noise in the Great Hall suddenly became quiet. Assyria saw everyone looking behind her at the door and wondered what they were looking at. A smirk appeared on her face as she saw Lord Nott standing there with a pale faced Nott Jr. Standing from her seat, she walked towards the smug Lord Nott and a scared Nott Jr with an innocent look on her face.

"Lord Nott, how lovely to see you again," she greeted him, her eyes drifted to a shaking Nott Jr for a moment before flickering back to his overly confident and smug father. She couldn't wait to wipe that smirk off his face and watch House Nott crumble and die.

"Miss Emrys." He looked down his nose at her, obviously thinking that because he had a dick that he was better than her. Assyria's smile didn't waver once.

A barely recognizable smirk appeared on her face before it changed to a small smile. "I trust that you have told Heir Nott about our deal?"

He sneered at her. "Of course I have you daft girl. Why else do you think I am even here? I thought it would be better for me to come here and tell my son himself instead of sending an owl."

She really felt like punching him in the face. "How sweet," she said sarcastically which was missed by the Lord but not by everyone else in the Hall. "I am also sure that you will be there to show your loving support for your wonderful son and will also be acting as his second, am I correct?"

"We have already been through all the details, Miss Emrys so I will instead be taking my leave. See you both tomorrow." He turned abruptly and left the very quiet Great Hall. Looking towards a white faced Nott, she let a smirk appear on her face. She walked towards him, her gait confident. Assyria reached out and let her right hand caress his cheek, his sharp intake of breath the only reaction he gave, making her smirk widen.

"Oh Little Nott, we are going to have so much fun." She whispered but the whole room could hear from how silent it was. Leaning forward, she pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek causing him to whimper. Assyria heard what sounded like a yell and sudden scrapping of chairs as she saw Sirius, Remus and Peter holding back an obviously angry and possibly jealous James that made her heart skip a beat just a bit. Winking at Nott, she leaves the Great Hall with an ensuing tension in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chant in this chapter is obviously made up and I cannot be bothered putting the translation in so if you want to know what the English translation is then do it yourself...lol. Sorry for being away for so long but, life being stink like always. The honour duel will be seen in the next chapter. Hopefully it is good enough.


	7. There Is No Glory In War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nott finally gets put in his place.

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was tense to say the least. Everyone knew that today would change everything. The Marauders were all anxious to see how this duel would end. They knew that Assyria was powerful but Nott was a pureblood heir that had been training since he was a child and while Assyria was an Emrys, they didn't know if she had the experience that he had. What the Marauders didn't know was that no one had more fighting experience than Assyria. The usual chatter in the Great Hall had died down considerably with only a few groups of people here and there speaking amongst themselves. The teachers table wasn't any different. Dumbledore looked a little pale while the rest of the professors were in a rather sombre mood.

The door to the Great Hall opened, Sirius watched as in walked Neville Emrys. With a little smirk in his little brothers direction, he walked over to them and plopped in the seat next to Wormy. He immediately began to serve himself some breakfast and settled into eating his scrambled eggs on toast. The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted Neville and his happy eating. Looking up from his food, he saw the eyes of just about everyone in the Great Hall on him but, he was more focused on the Marauders.

"Hey guys." he greeted them with a smile.

They just stared at him. "Something wrong?" he asked them amused.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh no, of course not. Just haven't seen you in a few weeks and you show up out of nowhere just to eat breakfast and to offer no explanation of where you've been?"

"I've been with Luna of course," he replied. "Didn't you know?"

"How is she?" Moony demanded, his eyes flickering between the colour amber and his natural brown eyes.

"She's good Remus," Neville said. "She's al-"

Neville was cut off by the loud sound of the doors to the Great Hall opening again and a petite, blonde haired girl danced into the room. She was wearing a bright yellow dress with sandals on her feet and radishes for earrings. Little Luna Emrys was back at Hogwarts which meant that the most anticipated honor duel was about to start.

Arriving at the Gryffindor table, she glided over to Remus and hugged him from behind then planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. Remus blushed a bright red before smiling at her and asking how she was feeling about everything. A little vindictive smirk appeared on her face before it turned into a sweet innocent smile. She told him how she was just happy to be back at Hogwarts but that she wouldn't stop her sister for avenging her.

"It's time." she said to Neville. Both their eyes were filled with vindictive glee and they looked towards the door to see their sister standing there alone. The Ravenclaw Emrys was wearing a tight fitted black jumpsuit that hugged her curves in all the right places with knee high boots. Her wand holster was on her upper right thigh, her wand already in it. Luna and Neville heard the sharp intakes of breath from James and the continued muttering of words like  _'stay calm James. Assyria just looks like a meal and you've already eaten breakfast'._  The siblings and the other Marauders couldn't contain their chuckles and amusement. James sounded like he hadn't drank anything in years and Assyria was the only thing in the whole world that could quench his thirst. Luna and Neville left the Marauders and moved to stand next to the rest of their siblings at the Great Hall entrance.

Several violet and violet-blue eyes locked onto their target sitting at the Slytherin table. Vicious smirks flitted across all their faces making Nott a little uncomfortable although he kept his smirk on his face. Remus saw and felt as Assyria's dangerous magic fluctuated around her, feeling almost as if it would suddenly lash out at anyone of them. "I told you that I'd take your heart as the price. Time to pay up. Meet me by Hagrid's house in fifteen minutes." With that, Assyria and her siblings left the Great Hall, leaving many muggleborns and muggle raised children confused while the rest couldn't seem to contain their excitement.

"What is she on about?," A muggleborn from Ravenclaw yelled. "What's going on?" Shouts were heard from other students that didn't understand what was going on until surprisingly, Sirius Black stood and offered an explanation for those who were confused.

"An honor duel is when two people of noble birth and from noble houses duel until death. No outsiders are allowed to interfere and if one of the participants die then their second can step in for them," He said to the now relatively quiet room. "It is also legal and was originally introduced so as to stop jealous cousins from outright killing heirs for their titles and whatnot. So long as both parties agree to the duel, it's legal so no aurors will be able to get involved."

There was talk about how unfair and barbaric that was but Sirius continued his explanation. "This is a situation between the Noble Houses that currently have seats in the Wizengamot that helps to run our government. Families didn't want their deceit aired out for the public so they used a method that would make it both legal and sort any problems out between either family members or two Noble Houses. The second that Nott attacked Luna the Noble House of Nott started a feud with the Most Ancient and Imperial House of Emrys. Assyria was right. Dumbledore had no right to interfere with business between noble families. This is going to happen and no one will be able to stop it."

Many stood including students and Professors to follow Nott as he sauntered off towards Hagrid's cabin. There they were met by Neville and Lord Nott with them two leading the crowds into the Forbidden Forest where they found a clearing. Draco and Luna were sat on one side with Draco wearing special robes that he left unbuttoned to show himself as his sisters second. Lord Nott also appeared to be acting as his sons second and wore the same robes. Assyria gestured to the spot in front of herself, five paces from her. As soon as it stepped in front of her, Dumbledore threw up a shield around the pair so that none of the spells would hit the crowds. Aurors were posted amongst the students to make sure that no harm would be done to them.

The second the duel started, Thadeus hurtled curses and hexes at her, both light and dark, not caring about anything so long as he survived. Assyria was surprised. She would have thought that a pureblood heir would at least have some semblance of a plan when going into a duel. She simply danced around, dodging all of his attacks with what looked like no effort until he became tired. She quickly sent a cutting curse at his knees and one at his wand arm, making him squeal and drop his wand. Many in the crowd winced watching as he bled out and Assyria merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tell me little Nott, your obsession with being King of Slytherin is what brought you to this moment. Why don't you call out to your pureblood friends since being a pureblood apparently makes you some sort of God. Tell me how your pureblood is going to help you now."

Everyone watched in shocked silence as Assyria broke bones and made Nott bleed more and more as time went on. She taunted him every chance she got and showed absolutely no mercy to him to the horror of many. She only stopped once she seemed to get bored before she spoke to him again that made everyone pause and think. "Being a pureblood doesn't make you superior Nott. It certainly didn't stop me from hurting you or from changing your fate. You are human, just like every pureblood, halfblood and mudblood as you'd call them. Your blood runs red like mine, just like the rest of us and the blood purity that you love so much doesn't mean anything when you're facing death."

"Say hi to him for me." With those final words, Nott's heart flew out of his chest and landed on the forest floor in front of him with a small wave of her hand. The last thing heard from Nott Jr was a strangled cry before their was only silence. Nott Senior finally gave a strangled cry for his son which Assyria promptly ignored. She looked out into the crowds and raised an eyebrow at their horrified expressions before laughing which was soon joined with the laughter of Draco, Luna and Neville.

"This is what the war will look like. With no mercy and no regards for your blood status. After all, our blood is all the same and will spill like any other. This war will bring pointless death and fighting and cruelty and if you could not stomach what happened with Nott then how will you stand to watch as your friends, family are killed? How will you be able to walk amongst the bodies of innocents? Children lying dead at your feet? Families dying together because dying together is a better fate than living apart? You're all so bloody stupid and naive and it was making me sick if I'm being honest. There is no glory in war, only death and if you don't change then you have only yourselves to blame for the fate you have chosen."

James and Sirius had the decency to look embarrassed and maybe even a little ashamed. They remembered how they had been talking about joining the war and taking down some filthy Death Eaters. After watching that honor duel, they now understood that they really were naive.

Lord Nott cried out and shot a curse at Assyria's back. Before anyone could warn her, she had already deflected the curse and Luna was already up and behind Lord Nott with a knife, slitting his throat open. He was dead before he had even hit the ground and just like that, House Emrys had wiped House Nott from existence. Everyone heard Luna mutter what sounded like 'dishonorable asshole' as she danced over to her sister and took her hand before walking out of the clearing. Neville and Draco flanked their sides as they passed them. Maria and Joseph couldn't help but want to follow their friend so they jumped behind her.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all followed the siblings with the additions of Regulus Black, Severus Snape, Amelia Bones, Amos Diggory and surprisingly, Narcissa Black. Looking momentarily at lost for words before coming to a decision, Lucius Malfoy ran after his love. Wherever she went, he would follow. The rest of the students watched as the group made their way towards the castle. They had almost made it back when the group was stopped by a despondent looking Hogwarts Headmaster.

"I am very disappointed in you, my girl. Was killi-" He was cut off with a raise of her hand.

"Firstly Headmaster, please refrain from referring to me in a somewhat comfortable manner. I do not like you so I would appreciate it if you addressed me as Miss Emrys. Secondly, this was an honor duel, his death is legal and has appeased my ancestors as Thadeus Nott attacked my House first. Thirdly, yes it was necessary. Anyone who comes after my family and anyone I consider worthy enough to have my protection, shall have my protection so, if others wish to harm those I care for, they will find themselves on the other side of my wand."

"Unlike you old man, I do not offer forgiveness, mercy and love in hope to sway someone to my point of view. Things like that only succeed in you finding a knife pierced through your back and if you keep pushing me then you will find that I will push you much harder. Do not meddle in things you do not understand."

With that, they walked off with those that had moved to support them. Many of the professors and the rest of the crowds watched as they left towards the castle and couldn't help but think that things were really going to change now. In Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. They however, did not think it was a bad thing. They left, leaving behind a confused Hogwarts Headmaster.

Those who had followed them had yet to leave the presence of the siblings even though Lucius and Narcissa had attempted to, the awkwardness of being amongst people they had looked down on seeming a bit much for them. Draco nodded his head as a thanks for what they had done before grabbing the hand of his Ravenclaw sister on one side while Neville went on the other side to hold Luna's hand. Assyria gave a small smile and a nod to the group aswell before leaving with her siblings.

Silence filtered around them as they watched the siblings leave down the hallway. Neither of them knowing what to say, too lost in their thoughts of what had happened that morning. Many of them felt ashamed and stupid for being so naive. It was like their whole lives they had been blind to everything and now, they finally understood. The Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins watched until the siblings were out of sight before they all broke off from each other, not one word was spoken for the rest of that day.


	8. Things Are Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the honor duel.

Albus Dumbledore knew that he had underestimated the Ravenclaw Emrys. To him, the Ravenclaw had been the less extraordinary amongst her siblings, even Luna Emrys showed more magical prowess than her. The only thing she had succeeded in doing was showing that she had a temper when it came to someone hurting her siblings and did not know when to respect her superiors. Dumbledore was still very much angry at her for throwing a knife at him for interrupting even if she was correct in the eyes of the law. He should have known. It was all a ruse. They were all protecting her. Painting her in a light where he would underestimate her and underestimate he did, badly. The Ravenclaw wasn't who he thought she was.

He thought that the real danger would come from her Slytherin brother but, like many conclusions that he had made about the Emrys siblings, he was wrong. They had shown that they were prepared to fight in this war and it seemed that nothing that the Headmaster could say would change their minds. Assyria Emrys would fight for this world and he was sure that her siblings would follow her to the Gates of Hell if she asked them to, fanning the flames so the fire would become larger. He had been watching the siblings carefully. So far, they had not done anything too drastic except the thing with Nott. As far as Albus Dumbledore knew, they weren't even using their seats in the Wizengamot yet. If only he knew. Draco and Neville had been voting anonymously, giving grief to Dumbledore and the Dark Lord.

She had brought the brutality and blood of the war into his school and he didn't like it. He had tried to keep the ugliness of the war out of the walls of Hogwarts but this one girl had walked in and brought it right through the front door in one day. He believed that children shouldn't see things like that. They should be allowed to live their childhood with their innocence still intact although Assyria and her siblings had come and shown her that the young people were strong, stronger than he thought. He didn't like it when his faith and belief was shaken and it definitely was. Albus had tried all week to stop this duel from happening, called meetings, done anything just so this duel would not happen and yet, it remained legal and now, House Nott was completely decimated by House Emrys.

Albus Dumbledore didn't know anything.

The silence in the common rooms was stifling. No words were spoken, not even by the little first years. James Potter sat by the fire in the common, silence heard all throughout the house. Once Assyria had delivered her message to the whole school, the Emrys siblings disappeared, off to who knows where. They knew that their show of loyalty was appreciated but that after that display, the siblings needed to leave so they could talk amongst themselves without any outside distractions.

It was a sombre affair. Watching one of your classmates die at the hands of another. Sirius Black wasn't close to Thadeus Nott, not even close but, to watch someone else die and knowing you can't do anything about it, was sobering and staggering which Sirius had a feeling was exactly what Assyria wanted to happen. Him and James would often talk about finally getting those  _filthy Slytherins_ and those  _little Death Eaters._ All he could think about now was watching James dying and him standing there, not being able to stop it.

Her words haunted everyone in the castle. Sirius and James always thought that they would be heroes, killing the bad guys (Death Eaters) and being invincible. How stupid and naive they were? No one spoke of the death, the comrades lost, the innocent people that you couldn't save and those who got caught in the crossfire. It was hard for those in the Hogwarts castle because while their was a war going on outside the wards of Hogwarts, the students were laughing, smiling, bullying each other and fighting over petty things like house rivalries. They never knew that things weren't always going to be sunshine and unicorns. People you thought you knew could change into something you never thought they would. Friends could become enemies or corpses that needed to be buried. It was a scary thought for the oblivious students of Hogwarts.

Regulus Black was waiting in the Gryffindor common room. He knew that he should go to his house so he could sleep in the very comfortable bed in his dorm but he couldn't and he didn't want to. Neville hadn't returned from wherever him and his siblings had gone. He needed to know if everything was okay. He needed to know what he could do to help him. It was time for him to get in touch with his recluse Grandfather. The kind Gryffindor that had never looked down on him because he was a Slytherin. He would wait for him even if he didn't receive answers to the many sobering questions on his mind. He would wait, as long as it took so he continued to read the book on his lap, even if he had to reread a page three times just so he could understand it.

James Potter couldn't help but be a little satisfied with how the duel, if you could call it that, had gone. It was terrifying and bloody and mind altering. He had now found another reason for Assyria Emrys to hate him. Especially when he and Sirius had always jokingly thought about becoming heroes in the war and finally getting back at those Death Eaters. James understood that it was time to take things seriously. He was Heir Potter and if he was going to want to stand next to Assyria Emrys equally then he was going to have to use the power and skills that he had so he could earn a place by her side.

It had been all fun and games when they were playing pranks on Snape and Slytherins, when he and Sirius saw the world in black and white, good and evil. When they proclaimed that all Slytherins were evil and all Gryffindors were good. That was until Assyria forced them to see the world as it truly was. Not all Slytherins were evil and not all Gryffindors were good.

He had once been so sure in his petty school thoughts and drama and now, it's like it was completely wiped from his mind. He was friends with Draco Emrys, Slytherin King and brother of the girl he loved. Regulus Black, another Slytherin that he was now on good terms with and Severus Snape, once mortal enemy and now, a somewhat acquaintance, another Slytherin. Things had changed for him and he knew why.

Assyria and her family were going to change Hogwarts and maybe even the Wizarding World. She needed a partner by her side, she wouldn't settle for something and someone that was only going to waste her time in the long scheme of things. Looking at her siblings, he could see that Neville had chosen Regulus to be the one to stand by his side. Draco and Sirius had some weird horny dance where it looked like they wanted to fuck each other one time and then hold hands the next going on between them. Luna looked like she had chosen Remus as her life-long partner. She practically worshipped him in her own way but, his werewolf friend was oblivious although James saw that he liked her just as much and then there was Assyria who had never given him the time of day because she knew that James wasn't ready to be everything she wanted. James knew who he wanted but he also knew that after today, there was a lot of growing up that he had to do. He hoped he wasn't too late.

Nothing she had done today scared him or made him want to run away. If anything he wanted to be beside her even more now. Yes, this was a war and frankly, it did scare him a little but, he wasn't anything if not a Gryffindor. His wake up call to the seriousness of the war going on around them had finally caught up to him and now, looking at Assyria, so firmly placed on the front line of this war, no wonder why she had never given him a second thought.

Assyria wasn't looking for a quick snog in a broom closet, she wanted something real. Her and her siblings lived in a world where they could die and lose everything in a second. She deserved the love of a lifetime that came with commitments, promises and moments of great happiness. She wanted something that came with strings and James wanted that too. He wanted to fight in this war but, he wanted to do it knowing that he had loved someone so much that he was willing to give his life for them. And he knew that person was Assyria Emrys except he also knew that he didn't deserve a chance with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the aftermath of the honor duel. Only contains the thoughts of a few characters so the next chapter will probably have more thoughts on what happened with Thadeus Nott. More things to come in the coming chapters. Even I'm feeling a little heartbroken about James and his thoughts on Assyria and their relationship or lack thereof.


	9. In The Grey Factions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, this story is also being uploaded on Wattpad and fanfiction.net under the same name and the same username (@jesseknows). I usually post on here first anyway or Wattpad. Credit to Amara22 who's work has inspired me to keep working on my story. It was brought to my attention a few chapters into my story that my story and hers were similar so I went to read it and let me tell you, IT IS AMAZING!! I feel happy to know that there is another person in this world who despises certain characters or their actions like me😌 Since it is so similar, I will however strive to make my story have different elements to her. Please do not think I am stealing her work because I would never. I would rather stop writing forever than steal a fellow writers story. GO CHECK OUT HER WORK THOUGH! It is awesome😌😌

Peter Pettigrew wasn't surprised that Assyria Emrys had killed Thadeus Nott. She herself had said that he would pay with his heart but, he did not know that she literally meant his heart. Peter Pettigrew knew he was a coward and even though Assyria Emrys was scary, he found himself happy to know her even if it was only because he was friends with her brother and to know that they were on the same side.

Many things were said in that clearing that needed saying. He himself was not a pureblood and although he had grown up apart of the Wizarding World, purebloods always looked down on him simply because of who his parents were. His life with his family wasn't as bad as Sirius home life but he was happy about the words that were spoken.

Remus Lupin only had one thing on his mind and that was his little mate, Luna Emrys. Yes, she was his mate and although he was inclined to believe that he didn't deserve her beautiful, kindhearted self because he was a monster, she didn't make him feel like one. The first thing she had said was 'I would really like to see you when you change on the night of the full moon. I'm sure you look magnificent'. He didn't know how she knew and it really freaked him out if he was being honest.

And then he saw what he thought was his innocent mate slit a man whose three times her size throat and watch him die. That's when he realised that maybe he really didn't know her but that wouldn't change how he felt. She accepted him and he would accept her. So if she was going to place herself firmly on the front line then so would he. There was a possible chance that he would not live to be 21 but if he was dying in the place of someone he loved then that sounded like a good way for him to go. Then maybe he wouldn't feel like such a monster knowing that he had saved someone's life when he was so scared that he would end up taking one.

He knew that the Emrys siblings were going to change the Wizarding World for everyone. They had already completely annihilated the pureblood agenda and now, he couldn't wait to see what else they did. He had a feeling that the siblings were making plans that had to do with the war and now he had seen that they were also capable of killing if they had to. They weren't like the other people in Hogwarts who lived strictly light or dark. They lived in the grey factions of the Wizarding World and he knew that if it came down to Luna's life and the lives of those she cared for, she would kill without a second thought.

He didn't have much of an opinion on blood purity and supremacy. He himself was a halfbreed and he disliked purebloods who hated others that were like him but, he could not hate all purebloods. James and Sirius were his best friends, his brothers and they were purebloods.

Remus knew that the Wizarding World wasn't as black and white as James and Sirius thought. Not all Slytherins were bad and not all Gryffindors were heroes. There are werewolves who did bad things like Fenrir Greyback but, he also knew that there were werewolves like him that just wanted to live their lives in a society where they wouldn't be treated as monsters.

Slytherin House was on lockdown after what happened to Nott. Avery and Higgs looked lost without their leader there but no one really cared. They were all thinking about the words that Assyria said 'Your pureblood won't save you' and 'the blood purity that you love so much doesn't mean anything when you're facing death', which is something they had never thought possible. Most of them grew up thinking that because their blood was pure that they were invincible. Their blood, their heirships, their money, their parents would not save them at all if someone's wand was pointed at them with the intent to kill. None of them even wanted to avenge Nott because they knew that they would not win. Their hearts would be carved from their chests next. Severus Snape watched as his house were all silently contemplating their beliefs and their actions as Slytherins.

As a halfblood himself, Severus Snape did not really believe in the whole pureblood beliefs. Why would he believe in something that made it seem like he was of less worth because of his parentage? Besides, who wanted to be an inbred idiot like Avery and Higgs. The only time he ever really wished he was a pureblood was when he saw the poverty that he had grown up surrounded by. Maybe if his mother had honored her marriage contract and not run then he wouldn't feel like a peasant and a beggar compared to some of his classmates. With the arrival of Draco into Slytherin and the crowning of a new King, his position in Slytherin had changed and now, he felt more secure in his place in the school.

Severus was no longer the Slytherin outcast who had no allies or friends in Slytherin. He was the King of Slytherins right hand with Regulus Black being his left hand. In one lifetime, Severus would have never interacted with Regulus. He was a Black and after his experience with the elder Black, he did not want to be in close proximity of anyone remotely related to the Marauders. Now they were friends. Snape had earned his position in Slytherin and now the house was actually run on the values of the house. The will and need to be cunning, smarts and brains meant more than the sum of your blood and galleons in Gringotts.

He would admit like any smart person that Assyria Emrys scared the shit out of him. The whole Emrys family did actually even Draco but, they had a mutual respect for each other and were now considered friends. He was not as naive and unobservant as the rest of the school and the professors. He knew she had power and now after seeing what he thought to be a minuscule amount of power that she had, he was lucky to call her an acquaintance, maybe even a friend.

The Slytherins all sat in the common room, none of them wanting to be in their dorm rooms after such a display. They had all realized that the Nott line had been successfully wiped out in a matter of minutes. It was a sobering thought for all the sole heirs of rich, pureblood families who were set on joining the Dark Lord. Maybe it wasn't worth it when they truly saw the battlefield.

Assyria's words had shaken them to their very cores. She was right, they were only human and their blood would run red like any others. When they looked at the battlefield, they saw themselves, families and friends dead. Their blood flowing around them. None of them wanted that to happen.

That night, Voldemort lost a lot of prospective followers.

Lily Evans had just watched someone she called her friend kill someone that had bullied her since she had started Hogwarts for being a muggleborn. Assyria had painted a pretty gruesome picture and although Lily would call herself a compassionate person that did not do well with seeing anything dreadful like witnessing Assyria carve Thadeus Nott's heart out of his chest, she didn't so much as flinch when he died but she didn't like the sight of blood. Her words would always stay with her. 'Your pureblood won't save you'. Lily had been living with being looked down on since she had started at Hogwarts. She felt such satisfaction when she had announced that to the whole school and did not feel one ounce of guilt. After watching Nott die, all she saw was the bodies of her friends and fellow students of Hogwarts, everyone scattered around what could only be described as a graveyard.

All of their blood splashed so needlessly on the floor, her so called dirty blood mixed with their pure blood and it only brought feelings of disgust. Was this really the fate that the Wizarding World was doomed to? To watch their friends and families die, flee and never be heard or seen again. She refused.

She had followed the siblings when they had left the clearing. She knew what she was doing. She didn't want to watch on the sidelines while her friends fought for her and others like her. They were amazing. The Emrys siblings were always so amazing, so powerful, so beyond anything and everything that she had ever known. They were nothing like other teenagers and actually reminded her of old souls. Souls that had seen and done a lot. Lily was honored to call them friends but being their friend was not enough for her. No, Lily Evans would not stand by and watch, she couldn't do that. If they wanted war then she would fight until she couldn't fight anymore.

Lily had changed so much after meeting the Emrys siblings. She had never thought about living in the grey but after meeting the siblings, they had no time for her small-mindedness. Assyria clearly told her that magic was all about will and intent. There was no such thing as light or dark. 'Dark spells' could save someone as much as light spells. Certain types of magic is not evil, only the wizard who wields it for evil intentions is. She was growing up and while a part of her wanted to run back to the muggle world and forget anything had happened, she had friends that could not just leave the Wizarding World and she wasn't about to leave them behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? Thoughts of some of the other characters in the story and as you can see, we are really getting in there on their thoughts and feelings about what happened. Not as long as I wanted it to be but, I also did not want to drag this chapter on. Find out what the Emrys siblings are doing next chapter. A lot more is to come so we will see what comes up. Hopefully, you're ready for this.


	10. I Prefer Bloody Statements, Brother

While the rest of Hogwarts seemed to be re-thinking their life decisions and dealing with the fact that they had just seen a Ravenclaw rip the heart of a Slytherin out of his chest and then proceeded to end his family line, the Emrys siblings were in the Room of Requirement, quietly oblivious to the inner turmoil of many of the students and professors.

The Room of Requirement had transformed itself into the comfortable living room in Emrys manor. Assyria sagged into one of the softest couches and rubbed at her eyes, her frustration and sleepiness seeping through her and now fully on display.

"Well that was certainly eventful. You know if you wanted to kill Thadeus Nott, I had a less bloody idea," drawled Draco, her sassy brother who still behaved like his bratty self once in awhile.

Assyria rolled her eyes. "You know I prefer bloody statements, brother." she replied to him, a small smirk flickering across her face before disappearing.

She had not done something so ruthless since they had found themselves in this time. They had not been here for even a year and she was getting a little antsy. The thing with their plan is that it was a waiting game. They were waiting for Voldemort to put his horcruxes in their exact locations so they could swoop in and collect them. Although most of them were already in place, some of them could not be taken without raising suspicion. If she was being honest, she missed being on the front lines. She had been controlling things from the shadows these past 11 months and now wished to lead her family in the open. They couldn't afford to hide their stance on the war any longer especially with how it was going to progress. Her actions had hopefully showed potential Death Eaters that were currently apart of their cohort that if they chose to bow to Voldemort, then they would meet the same fate as the now deceased Nott family.

Dumbledore was getting anxious and was trying to constantly get Neville under his influence so that they would 'follow' him. Dumbledore knew that they would not follow him and that they were very capable for people so 'young'. He however did not know anything about their skills or magic. Yes, he had seen them display small feats of wandless magic that probably were unheard of for students but might be able to be performed by elder wizards and witches after years of practice. He did not know that she was the only person in the history of the Wizarding World who could claim that they had defeated Lord Voldemort. He did not know that she was the Master of Death. Something that she knew he had coveted since his days when he was beside Grindelwald.

"Dumbledore was getting desperate. He has already tried to use compulsion potions and spells on Neville and now, I have given us time while he backs off." Assyria said. "While he obsesses over what happened, we will make our moves elsewhere."

Her siblings nodded. "That's good but, the real question is why did you kill Thadeus Nott? You could have handled that situation differently that did not involve you killing him." asked Neville.

While it looked like to the rest of the school like she had lost her temper, she had not. Their was always a plan behind her actions as she did not allow herself to be ruled by her emotions. A person who didn't have a grasp on their emotions were easily baited and influenced into forgetting their actions and plans. Lord Voldemort was a prime example. He had so many chances to end her life in their previous timeline but because he was arrogant and easily angered, he never did end up killing her.

"While Nott wasn't very powerful or bright, honestly, he reminds me of Crabbe, his family are loyal to the Dark Lord since Tom Riddles school days at Hogwarts. He would have become a nuisance to us as our years at Hogwarts continued," she said. "So I thought it better to dispose of the problem before it became a bigger problem. Loyalty like that is dangerous and if we had decided to overlook him then it would have come back to bite us in the ass later like Peter Pettigrew and that spineless coward in our timeline is the reason why my whole damn life was an endless fight against Voldemort, Dumbledore and the stupid Ministry. Besides he tried to hurt you guys and that is unforgivable to me and punishable by death."

That was one of the many problems that came with the war. Many people were underestimated and for that, lives were lost. Thadeus Nott was dead and hopefully that meant that someone was saved from death. There was now one less person who supported Tom Riddle in Hogwarts. None of her siblings really cared that she had killed Nott. They knew he was going to die but they wanted to know why he had to be killed in front of the entire school.

"I admit that I myself did not think that Nott Senior would try to avenge his son."

"I guess some Death Eaters actually do love their kids." Neville replied, a small chuckle escaping his mouth. His siblings rolled their eyes, sometimes he was inappropriately funny.

Assyria continued her explanation, "I knew that Lord Nott would have found any way to duel me after his sons death. Probably another challenge in the name of family honor or another stupid reason. I used his enormous male ego to get the duel against his son and now because I'm a small, innocent girl, the Nott family have been wiped from existence." And Voldemort had one less family that he could recruit from.

That would always be their first mistake Assyria thought. Looks could be deceiving. Like a snake hiding from it's prey so they could spring out and attack their enemies. Her siblings thought their sister was the epitome of a Slytherin for what is a Slytherin if they did not know how to be someone they are not for their own gain. This whole school had been shown that today after the 'tame, quiet' Emrys family member had just killed someone in front of their eyes. And it was legal. Lord Nott had walked to his own death and did not even know it. His ego had brought about the end of House Nott and Assyria, neither her siblings cared one bit.

"As for why the huge production, well this school needed a wake up call like I said before," she explained. "No one in their right mind would want to suffer the same fate as Thadeus Nott and now they know that to stand with Riddle or Dumbledore is to stand against us."

She continued her explanation, "We have been here for almost a whole year and it is now time to implement some of our plans. Our political front of this war will pick up more during the summer and hopefully, come next year, we will have more well rounded and open students attending Hogwarts."

"You know, I expected you guys to be pissed as my little display will have turned some of our plans to shit."

The other Emrys siblings laughed, Neville laughing quite boisterously. "Oh no dear sister. Our plans turned to shit as soon as we got here like usual. Besides I like it when everything is unexpected."

Draco scoffed, "You're such a Gryffindor." He said, a small smirk appearing on his face.

Assyria smiled at her siblings, a sense of happiness and relief in the air. She was happy with the way things were handled and now, she was able to lead her family out in the open. After watching that honor duel, no one would believe that she was the weak Emrys who needed her siblings for protection.

"I do not think that we will have old Tommy's attention yet. You showed minuscule amount of your power today and many will base your victory on you having better training so good job showing that you have skill in duelling without showing too much power." Draco said thinking about the duel that had occurred a few hours before.

Assyria nodded. While she did want to cause a huge uproar, she did not wish to have Voldemort's attention just yet. While she did need to duel him so she could assess his power and level of insanity, the time had not come yet. Their first duel would have to be somewhere where there would be a lot of people so that others could see that Dumbledore was not the only one who could go against Voldemort. They needed to get people to stop bending and attending to the old mans every whim. People needed to get off their own arses and try saving themselves. The way the Wizarding World had hated her and slandered her in her fifth year then started loving and begging her to save them when it was proven that she wasn't a liar had and still does irk her to this day and probably til the day she dies. Her and her siblings aren't doing this so she can become a Saviour and all that, she just wanted revenge on Tom for killing her loved ones, Dumbledore for being a manipulative old coot that never tried to save someone unless it benefited him and on the Wizarding World for being a bunch of sheep who'd jump off a cliff if one sheep jumped with the little plans that her and her siblings have.

Her siblings thought she was crazy. Who actually  _wanted_ to go up against the Dark Lord?!? But they all knew that she was right. Their Tom that they had faced in the future was crazy, insane and impulsive. He let himself be ruled by his emotions and did not think his decisions through properly resulting in finding himself in stupid situations and making rash decisions like a  _Gryffindor_. It would help them if they knew how he thought and to see where he was on the spectrum of saneness. Hopefully really low. It looked like this Tom would need to be given a slight incentive to come out of hiding as he had not been seen in the past 11 months since the failed raid on Michael Smiths family although his followers were still very much active and also being thwarted at every turn by them through Fawkes and the Order.

Draco then remembered something important and said, "We'll need to do something about Bellatrix Lestrange soon. She is one of Tom's most loyal and needs to be taken care of." A hiss was heard from two of the occupants of the room. One was thinking of the childhood he had lived without his parents because of her. Another was thinking of the father that Bellatrix had killed that fateful night in the Department of Mysteries. So many peoples lives would be better off if they just decided to kill her.

"We need to talk to Sirius." said Luna.

Draco, Neville and Assyria looked at her oddly before shrugging their shoulders and standing, all four of them walking towards the door.

If Luna said that they needed to do something then they probably did.

Approaching the Gryffindor Tower, three of the siblings slowed down, realizing that they didn't know the password but they should've known that Luna would know the password. She knew everything. Once in front of the Fat Lady, Luna spoke the password and they were let in after getting stared at by the Fat Lady critically.

The usually loud and excitable Gryffindor Tower was silent and somewhat dull that even the bright red and gold colour scheme did not instill any happiness into the Gryffindor students.

Once they were inside the common room, they were met by an empty common room that housed only six people with emotionless eyes and blank faces. Looking around for the grey eyes of her once upon a time papa, she found him sitting next to a boy with a pair of familiar hazel eyes. She gave them all a small smile.

"Sirius, we need to talk." Luna said as soon as she saw him. All four Emrys siblings were looking straight at him, their gazes not straying to the others surrounding him namely, the rest of the Marauders, his brother and one Lily Evans.

Sirius nodded his head before moving to stand. Luna pointedly stared at Regulus and he stood as well. The siblings trusting their little sister, let her walk off with the Black brothers while they stayed behind with the Marauders and Lily.

The siblings sat down on one of the empty couches, Assyria lying down in between her brothers with her head on Neville's lap and her legs draped over Draco. The Gryffindor in the room were staring at them while they talked amongst themselves, their laughter heard in the dead silent common room.

"You guys alright?" Neville asked the remaining Marauders and Lily. They all nodded at him and he sent them a little smile before going back to talking to Draco. The Ravenclaw continued to stare at them.

She knew that the event that had conspired a few hours ago had shaken the base of their existence and had made them think about everything in their lives differently now. Her eyes met hazel, they stared at each other for a few seconds before she sent him a small fleeting grin. A huge grin lit up on his face and he would deny later but Potter blushed a little. Seeing his blush, Draco started to tease his Gryffindor friend and soon the tenseness in the air was replaced with ease and laughter.

Assyria had moved from her spot in between her brothers to beside Lily which happened to put her next to Potter. She could feel his stare on the back of her head as she spoke quietly to Lily about the events that had transpired. Sparing him a small glance over her shoulder, she saw him watching her intently while answering whatever question Moony had asked him, his gaze never once wavering. She fought the urge to blush under his intense stare before sharply turning back towards a smirking Lily. Wishing to avoid the topic of Potter, she began to ask Lily about her thoughts on the honor duel.

"How are you with everything that happened Lily?" Assyria asked her red headed friend. She knew that some people could handle death and blood while others couldn't. She wasn't inclined to assume that Lily was someone who couldn't handle it but her Papa and Dad  **(Sirius and Remus. No they weren't together in her old timeline but she did think of them as her parents hence as to why she refers to her Sirius as her Papa and Remus as her Dad.)** had always described her as a compassionate, loving person.

A somber expression appeared on her face. "I am okay," she said, her hand reaching out to grasps the Ravenclaws who just let her. "Is it bad that I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for Nott and his fathers death?"

Assyria have her a gentle smile before reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze as some form of comfort. "No it's not, Lily. This is a war and you can't mourn every death that you witness or maybe even dish out." she said, neither of them noticing the now silent common room and the listening audience that consisted of all the Marauders with Sirius having returned from his talk with Luna. the one Slytherin and her own siblings.

"I agree that no one has the power to decide who deserves to die and who doesn't beside Death himself but, you have to understand that once the war picks up, you will have to make a choice. Kill or be killed. You have to learn to live and accept the decisions you made while on the battlefield." She said, her mind returning to a time where she herself had to learn this. There was time to mourn and time to fight and sometimes, you did not have time to mourn all of the dead. She herself did not have time to mourn the death of her second father before she walked to her death that Dumbledore had so eloquently led her to.

"No one expects you to feel for him. He has bullied you since you have started at Hogwarts together. Yes, there will be people who mourn him and I myself briefly thought of a mother waiting for her husband and son to return home, only to realize that they never will but then I thought of what my life would be like if Nott had truly succeeded in taking my little sister from me so I continued." She certainly did not care for Nott and his death but even she had brief moments where her emotions decided to make themselves known.

Assyria sent Lily a blinding smile that seemed out of place to the redhead considering what they were speaking about. "As the war wears on, you will learn to keep going. It is fact that where there is war, there is death. Friends and loved ones will be lost but we all must eventually learn that Death is apart of Life. We all will someday die, some of us much earlier than others."

She looked at the clearly very emotional Lily Evans in front of her. Assyria opened her arms hesitantly, offering her a hug and Lily didn't hesitant before she flung herself into her arms, her silent sobs heard in the silent common room. Assyria knew that it would take awhile for Lily and everyone here to understand and soon be able to control her emotions. They had not lived and grown up during a war unlike her and her siblings but she knew that Lily was determined to fight with them. Everything was still so new however so she understood. Neither of the Marauders or Slytherin in the room knew what to do but Luna just bounded over and joined the hug.

"You have a big heart Lily, don't give someone who tormented you a small part of it." Lily pulled out of the hug long enough to smile at the two girls who were slowly feeling more like sisters to her than Tuney ever had since she had started at Hogwarts and found out about magic.

Luna smoothed down her hair and began to hum a little lullaby that her sister would sing to her after she would wake from nightmares about her time at Malfoy Manor. Lily smiled and slowly drifted off before feeling a small kiss to her brow and someone saying the words, "Sleep now, little sister." Soon she knew no more.


	11. Feelings Are Complicated

**Meanwhile with Luna and the Black siblings....**

Sirius wasn't sure what Luna Emrys wanted with them and even though she looked innocent, his brother and him agreed that she put them on edge. And when she looked at people with her eyes so similar to those of Draco, it was almost like she could see into their soul. Actually, their whole family had that affect on people.

Once they were outside and down a secluded hallway away from any listening portraits or people, Luna turned to them and said, "It's time." Like they were suppose to read her mind and suddenly know what she was on about.

Sirius and Regulus were confused. "Owl your grandfather Sirius, Regulus. Tell him everything that has happened with your family. Tell him about the activities that your cousin has been drawn into. Tell him everything about the Dark Lord."

They both knew exactly which cousin Luna was talking about. Bellatrix wasn't always like that. Sirius and Regulus remembered their curly haired, outspoken cousin that had always made them laugh. She used to be so beautiful and they use to love hanging out with cousin Bella but, the summer after her sixth year, she had become a different person. She was vicious, hateful and altogether wasn't the Bella they had known. Then she had married that idiot Lestrange and had become worse. They couldn't even remember their Bella. Back then they didn't know what to account for her change but they weren't so naive now. Bella had been his follower even back then.

They looked at each other and nodded. They agreed that the only person that could knock some sense into their family was their recluse Grandfather and Head of their family, Lord Arcturus Black. Noticing Luna gazing off into the distance as if listening and looking at something that only she could see, they began to walk away, thinking that she had said all that she had wanted to.

Once they had walked a few steps, she asked them a question that caused them to pause. "Do you love them?" She asked.

They turned back to Luna to see her still looking off into the distance, making them unsure as to whether or not she was talking to them. "What did you say?" Sirius asked the weird but oddly calming girl in front of him.

"Do you love them?" She repeated herself. Her eyes locked with theirs, compelling them to tell the truth.

They decided to go with the stupid route. They knew exactly what she was talking about but they were Sirius Orion and Regulus Arcturus Black, sons of unloving parents that had made them slightly allergic to anything that involved love but still craving a loving touch after having lived their whole lives without it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Luna gave them a thoroughly unimpressed look. She knew they knew what she was talking about but that admitting something like this aloud would be hard for them.

Luna gazed at them and said, "My brothers. Do you love them? Would you do anything for them?"

Regulus had no idea what love was supposed to feel like. He knew he loved his brother but that was a given, they were family and had only ever had each other. This was different though. Neville was someone that he had not known for his whole life like Sirius nor did they have a traumatic home life that tied them to each other like him and his brother. They had no connection at all to each other before Neville appeared at Hogwarts, proceeded to sit himself down in a chair and make himself a permanent fixture in his life.

Sirius and Regulus weren't sure whether they loved Neville and Draco but they knew that they'd do anything for them.

"I don't know," Sirius replied. "But I know that I'd do anything for Draco. I know that if he were to die in this war then this would be a lonely and sad existence without him."

Regulus said, "If I was to die then I'd die happy knowing that I was able to be with Neville and that I was able to spend how many years at his side, even if it was only as a friend."

Luna looked over them, almost as if to see if they were lying. "Do not speak words you do not know the meaning of." She said.

Hearing her say that made the anger well up inside of them. "What do you mean by that?!?" Sirius yelled at her, losing his composure with Regulus not too far behind.

"Would you kill for my brothers? Even if it was your own family. Would you kill dear cousin Bella if it meant saving Neville or Draco's life?" She asked them, making their anger disappear at once. "Tell me, if you saw someone that you loved or once loved and cared for about to kill my brothers, would you immediately kill that person or would you hesitate and in doing so, lose my brothers?"

Sirius mind was a haze of screaming 'would you?'. Well would he is the question. Would he kill the cousin that use to read to him as a child or would he save the boy that made his heart beat fast?

Regulus wasn't doing any better. Would he kill the girl that use to hold him whenever he fell or cried or would he save the Gryffindor that made him want to be courageous and strong and unafraid of what his parents thought?

"Yes," Regulus said, his answer unsurprising to him but catching his brother off guard. "Yes, I would kill her..."

"Reg, how coul-" Sirius began to interrupt but Regulus stopped him.

"No Siri," he snapped at his brother. He looked at Luna and locked eyes with his Gryffindor's sister. "The answer to your question is yes. Yes I would kill Bella if it meant saving Neville."

"The truth is, Bella hasn't been our Bella for a long time. Not since her Hogwarts days so if I have to choose between the psychotic girl that is only wearing my cousins body and face and a boy who didn't judge me because I was from a Dark family, a Black and a Slytherin then I wouldn't hesitate to kill her, maybe this way my memory of her won't be tainted with hate if she managed to kill Neville." Regulus ended his explanation, shocking his brother.

Sirius could only stare at his younger brother. Although it hurt to think about their cousin like this, what he said was true. She had not been their Bella for a long time and although they loved her, he knew that they would pick Draco and Neville over her.

Luna was happy. Sirius and Regulus did not know how similar they were. They both had grown up without love which made them slightly allergic to the word and commitment but, she knew that they would follow her brothers to the end and that's all that mattered to her at the moment. Draco and Neville had chosen Sirius and Regulus. Now, it seemed that they were willing to follow.

* * *

"She fell asleep." Assyria said, looking down at the red headed girl wrapped in her and her sisters arms. A soft smile was on her face as she stared at the sleeping face of her, I guess friend is what she was to her now. This had been a very trying day for the redhead and although she knew that Lily was strong and probably incredibly stubborn, she was still unused to seeing death and bloodshed. That would soon change, of course.

She glanced up to see everyone in the room staring at her. "Wow," Sirius said, staring at Assyria in what seemed like a mixture of shock and awe. James face didn't look any different. "That speech was so passionate and inspiring that I feel like I could kill Voldemort rightnow all by myself."

The group of Hogwarts students in the room laughed at his comment. Leave it to Sirius to diffuse the tension in a room.

James Potter was sitting so close to his love that if he shifted a little to the left, his side would brush against hers. He however was distracted by Luna and wanted to know what she had talked to Sirius and Regulus about. Turning to his friends, James asked what Luna had wanted with them. Only to get a vague answer of "Oh, she just wanted to ask some questions. It wasn't important." This made him more than a little suspicious. If it wasn't important then why did they need to leave the room to talk about this unimportant thing.

"What kind of questions?" He asked Sirius, trying to look him in the eye, only for his best friend to skillfully avoid his eyes and giggle, bloody giggle, rather nervously.

"Stop trying to interrogate him James. I'm sure he'll tell you later." Assyria said, sending him a small smile which floored him and everyone else in the room. The fact that she had just called him James also not lost on them.

Assyria pretended to not notice the silence that her words had brought. Yes, she had been cold towards James before but they were on the same side now as he had shown his support for her family so the least she could do was show him a little respect and warmth. It didn't mean she was suddenly going to disregard her brains well thought out actions in favour of those of her heart. There was a war going on and while she was happy to see her siblings find their life companions, she could not yet willingly let herself do the same. She did not think she could survive losing someone that important to her ever again after losing Sirius and Remus and then her godson.

For the Emrys family, the war was already going on and they were going to be smack bang in the middle of it. Although a part of her, a rather huge part, wanted to leave Britain to its own devices and live her life free of the war because honestly, the second Wizarding War was their own damn fault. They invited Voldemort to make Britain his kingdom after they had not listened to her after the events of the Triwizard Tournament nor were they prepared at all for him. They also let people like Lucius Malfoy get out of punishment and once again, invited them to make Britain a place where they were upstanding citizens. The Ministry was a joke. Choosing instead to rely onto a 17 year old girl. So yes, she was all for leaving Voldemort to conquer them and live her life blissfully ignorant and relaxing on a beach in Bali but then another part of her remembered the little blue haired baby, one Teddy Lupin. Her godson. Her little brother. The one that she knew now would never be born but, she wanted a better life for him. A life with a family and love. She wanted that for all of them.

She didn't want Padfoot to spend 12 years in Azkaban. She didn't want Moony to go one full moon without his pack mates. She didn't want James Potter to die at the age of 21, never being able to see his child grow up. She didn't want a cowardly Peter Pettigrew to betray his friends to the Dark Lord. She didn't want Neville's parents to spend the remainder of their days in the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mungo's and although she hated being the Saviour of the Wizarding World, the Girl Who Lived to the Woman Who Conquered, she could not deny that that was exactly who she was.

Regulus made eye contact with his brother and after discreetly giving him a slight nod, they both made their way out of the room, giving excuses as to where they were going. They made their way to the Owlery where Sirius produced a quill and a piece of parchment for them to write on.

_'Dear Grandfather and Grandmother' they wrote. 'I know that it has been so long since we have seen or even written to you and so thought that as the Heirs to House Black, it was our duty to tell you of the happenings going on in the Wizarding World at the moment and our family.'_

_'There is a new Dark Lord. He is cruel and kills with absolutely no remorse. Purebloods, halfbloods, muggleborns, it does not matter as to what your blood status is. If you do not submit to him then he will kill you. Many members of our House are taken with him and his ideals and we fear that they will bring death and dishonour to our family name. No more than what Mother and Father have already done.'_

Sirius and Regulus wrote in growing detail about the treatment that Sirius had been receiving from their parents and the pressure they had been putting on Regulus to become marked. They also spoke of members of their family that had already become Death Eaters like Bellatrix or those that fully supported him. Once they had finished writing, they sent their letter off to France where their recluse grandparents resided.

"Hopefully that letter gets the desired effect that Luna was going after. Although I'm lost as to what she thinks Grandfather will do." Regulus said to his brother who nodded and agreed, both of them unsure of what to make of the blonde Hufflepuff.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm late but I've been a little busy with life. Things will be starting to progress more and I will be slowly parting from Amara22 and her story and start writing my own story now with its own plot and twists. Also I KNOW that every Wattpad writer chooses Aaron Taylor Johnson as the actor who plays James but honestly if they ever made a Marauders movie, I would petition for him although I guess we'd be setting ourselves up for heartache and a whole day of crying by watching that since we already know their fate😭😭 Isn't he sexy though?!? James is like THE character that I just wish I could be with😍😂 Like idc if Harry isn't born, I'll just be the Chosen One myself😂😂😂
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter x


	12. Nothing Is Free

Things at Hogwarts had been a little tense for the last month or so of the school year. Wherever Assyria or any of her siblings went, they would be bombarded with utter silence and stares. It seems that the events of last month had brought feelings of tenseness and caution whenever they were around as if their family goes around murdering people, the fact that Nott died in a honour duel which is completely legal had seemingly slipped their minds.

Dumbledore had also remained cautious around them after finding that they had completely played him into thinking that she was some weak nobody amongst our family. He seemed to realise that if they could fool him once, who was to say that they couldn't do it again.

It was the Sunday before her last month for her fifth year at Hogwarts was to finish and then her family would return to Emrys Manor and start causing havoc for Voldemort and Dumbledore. Assyria had decided to sit by the Black Lake by herself reading as her mind went over the events that had come to pass in the last month or so. Her friendship with Joseph and Maria had ended. She was not surprised and even though they had stood behind her family after the honour duel, she knew that she could not have expected them to follow her to their likely deaths so when they stopped acknowledging her, she let them go. Instead she had become much closer to Lily. Assyria taught her about magic and the traditions of the Wizarding World that she herself did not know about until Neville, Draco and Luna practically shoved it down her throat while Lily taught her about the muggle world.

Although she had grown up in the muggle world thinking she was a normal muggle, she did not know what the muggle world was like in the 1970s so even she needed help to understand. As she sat there seemingly lost in her own thoughts, she did not notice the two people that had sat themselves next to her until one of them tapped her on the shoulder. Her first reaction was to reach for wand but she managed to just stop herself. She looked to her right and saw a boy and a girl. Both of them unexpected companions right now.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." The boy said while the girl looked at her apologetic.

She gave them a hesitant smile before she shrugged her shoulders as if saying that it was okay and that they did no harm.

They looked at her weirdly since she had not said a thing to them since they had sat down.

The girl held out her hand. "I'm Alice Greengrass," she said then pointed to the boy. "This is my boyfriend, Frank Longbottom."

"It's nice to meet you." Alice said, a hesitant smile on her face as she held her hand out for her to shake. Assyria stared at both of them, remembering the two people that spent the rest of their lives at St. Mungos. A small frown began to appear on her face until she felt a firm grip in her grasp and a small shake.

"Nice to meet you too," Assyria replied, giving them her own hesitant smile.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Assyria began to get annoyed. A frown began to show on her face as she sat there wondering whether or not they would hurry up and say what they wanted to.

After a few minutes of them still not saying anything, she made a move to pack up her things. Assyria glanced at Frank and Alice before she stood up. She felt a hand grab onto her wrist as she was about to take her first step. Looking at the hand, she saw that it belonged to Alice, who was looking at her desperately. Alice immediately pulled her hand back once she realised what she was doing, her face becoming bright red.

"Heiress Emrys," It's Lady Emrys Assyria thought. "Heir Longbottom and I wished to discuss something with you." She tentatively started. Assyria stared at them both before sitting back down, giving them both a look as if to say to get on with it.

Assyria raised her eyebrow, "And what is it that you wish to discuss with me?" They looked at her shyly before it looked like Frank finally found some confidence to say something.

"We wish for you to teach us." He said.

Teach them? Teach them what?

"Teach you?" She replied.

Alice answered, "Yes. You are a formidable duellist and we wish to learn from you."

Assyria looked at both of them. Her teach people other than her family? Why does this feel like fifth year all over again. A year full of shit, hatred and death. Fifth year was just as bad as fourth year.

She shook her head. "No." They both frowned before it looked like they were about to resort to begging but she knew they wouldn't. They were Purebloods and Purebloods did not beg.

"Please. Please, please, please, please, please." It seemed the universe was determined to surprise her today.

Assyria shook her head no, stood and began to walk off with them following closely behind her. "I am no teacher and even if I am which I am not, I do not know either of you nor do I trust either of you. How do I know that you will not use the knowledge I teach you to kill me? Or teach my enemies?"

She started walking faster, both of them struggling to keep up with her before she stopped suddenly and looked at both of them. "Look, it is nothing personal against both of you except for the utter fact that you both have not earned my trust but you come to me begging me to train you two," she shook her head at them. "That is not how I work. I do not give freely to those I do not know nor do I have to help you simply because you asked, pleaded and begged."

Leaving them stunned, she turned and walked away from the two of them. Assyria has no idea what she was getting herself into.

* * *

She had to endure their insistent behaviour. Any chance they had to ask her for lessons, they would ask her. Although they did not beg if they were in the presence of other people, they actually did have a sense of decorum.

Soon the Marauders, Regulus and Lily learnt of why the two of them were following her around and decided that they wanted to as well. Her siblings found it remarkably funny which meant she was on her own when it came to dealing with 8 people that couldn't take no for an answer.

It was when she was walking back from the library with them close behind her that she finally had enough of their bullshit.

She stopped abruptly, making Sirius knock into her back. "Come. Let's go somewhere so we can talk." She said, looking over her shoulder at them.

She took them to the Room of Requirement. Assyria swore they thought that they had finally broken her and that she'd give in to them now. Gosh they didn't know how wrong they were.

"Honestly, the following me around needs to stop. I know you all want me to train you but it's really not going to happen." She said. "I don't know you guys enough to trust you and besides who said that I have to train you. If you guys want to learn so badly, why don't you ask my siblings?!? You know the people you guys are actually close to or are friendly with."

Sirius answered, "We did ask them. They said that you would be better at teaching us."

Well wasn't that a load of bullshit.

She groaned as she facepalmed herself. "Of course they'd say that. Assholes." Assyria muttered while she imagined skinning her siblings. They lived to annoy her sometimes.

She didn't have time for this. The school year was almost over and they had much to prepare for. Neville was going to take up his position as Lord Gryffindor in the Wizengamot during their break and cause trouble for Dumbledore and Voldemort. Hopefully hearing that his ancestor's (even though he's not actually a descendant of Slytherin) supposed 'sworn enemy' had an heir would coax him out of hiding. They, of course, knew the risk they were taking. This could end very badly for their family especially Neville but he would not back down from his idea.

"This is perfect." Neville said, glaring at his siblings. "If I do this then he might come out of hiding and you can finally have your duel, Ri. We'll be able to assess his mindset and hopefully get a peek at his plans. You guys know this a good idea, just give it a chance."

In the end they agreed. How could they hold him back when they knew he was right?

Looking at the group sat around her, she sighed loudly before putting her head into her hands. "I will think about helping you guys with your duelling. Just leave me alone."

Before they could say anything, she was up out of her chair and out the door so fast that none of them even registered she was gone until she was out of the room.

"I think we're wearing her down. Her answer was no before and now it's changed into a maybe." Sirius commented, only to receive a slap to the back of his head and several pillows thrown at him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. It's just life. This chapter was kind of a filler til we get to the good stuff. I know that people would expect that she would want to train them and even though she was kinda affectionate in the past two chapters, she really hasn't warmed up to them enough to trust them and want to teach them so I think her response is fairly probable. Also I know that they always talk about how many people died during the wars so then why isn't she helping them now by training them and while she does think about the people that died, she accounts that to Dumbledores meddling and Toms insanity with a huge mixture of the Wizarding Worlds utter lack of common sense and their idiocy. So while she mourns for their deaths, she also thinks that they must fend for themselves instead of relying on others so in her book, she will help them once they have proven themselves to her. NEW STORY COMING OUT ASWELL! Hopefully you're prepared for what's coming up x


	13. I Kinda Have To Now, Don’t I?

Remus watched as his little mate shot spell after spell at an animated dummy before she turned to duel her brothers. He found her so beautiful, so ethereal, so beyond anything he had ever known or thought he deserved. He was a werewolf after all. A monster and she was not yet, she wanted him.

The group had taken to watching the Emrys siblings practice their duelling although Assyria was never there, probably trying to avoid them as much as possible. They were definitely a force to be reckoned with and if he was not on the same side as them then he seriously would have feared for his life if he ever happened across them in a battle.

Luna was a very skilled duellist although he was not surprised after seeing Assyria duel Nott. She practically destroyed him and without even breaking a sweat. Remus had asked Luna to teach him but she only replied with a no and a "you're better off learning from Ri if you want to be really good." He didn't know why she said that considering the fact that him and his friends had been trying for weeks to get Assyria to agree only to be shot down every single time. Although Sirius was convinced it was a maybe after the incident in the Room of Requirement.

Luna apparently thought that she would soon give in and agree to teach them. It had now been three weeks. The group had given up all hope when it happened.

All of them had lost their prey in the throes of students racing to classes when they came across a rather stupid scene. It seemed that some of the Slytherins had decided to get revenge on Assyria for what happened to Nott. The corridor was abandoned and empty except for the five Slytherins and the Ravenclaw. Assyria did not look like she was tiring at all actually, it looked like she was just appeasing them for awhile until she got bored.

Remus had his wand out before he could even think and was running towards the duelling Slytherins and Ravenclaw. "Hurry up!" He shouted back at James, Sirius, Peter, Lily, Alice, Frank and Regulus, whom they were able to actually pull away from following Neville around.

Their spells joined with hers and soon the Slytherins were on the floor and knocked out. Assyria looked over them, her eyes assessing each of them before she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"They planned this, those bastards." She scrutinised them, making them all rather uncomfortable except James who practically preened at the attention. "I kinda have to now, don't I?" Assyria said to them before walking off, she threw a look over her shoulder as she walked, beckoning them to follow her.

"I'll have to find Dray later. Tell him about those five Slytherins." Regulus said, his hands clenched tightly as he stared back at the five bodies and his eyes furious. The group merely nodded, only Sirius seeming to understand what he was going on about and why it mattered.

The group found themselves back at the Room of Requirement, sitting in the exact same spots as before. Once everyone was sat, Assyria started talking. "Tomorrow, you will each come here at exactly 7:30 in the morning. Do not be late unle-"

Sirius interrupted her, "Wait, late for what?" He asked the question they were all thinking.

She rolled her eyes at the group. "For your training Sirius Black. You do still want to be trained, right?" Everyone nodded their heads vigorously and Assyria launched back into the explanations. Everyone realised that her training sounded more like a strict army regiment.

"If I could ask a question?" Regulus said to Assyria. When he got a curt nod, he opened his mouth and asked, "Why did you decide to train us? We've been following you around for weeks yet you paid us no heed until this afternoon."

She sighed, "You all came to my aid even though I did not need it. I figured that you earned at least a little trust on my part although if something does happen then you should try to remember my duel with Nott because if you cross me, I will cross you just as hard."

After an hour or two, she stood and began to walk towards the door. "I'd get a good nights sleep tonight because I'm going to work you all really good tomorrow that you won't even be able to keep your eyes open from exhaustion."

Then the girl swiftly left the stark white faces of the group. Merlin what had they gotten themselves into.

* * *

The next day the group was there at exactly 7:30 where they were met by a stoic faced Assyria who wore simple gym tights and tank top. They looked around and saw no dummies around for them to fight against at all.

They gave her a confused look. "You will not need dummies until later. Sirius, you're up first." Sirius walked towards her still confused until she erected a shield around them and stood with her wand to the side.

"You obviously know duelling etiquette." Assyria said making Sirius nod his head. They both bowed at each other. "Don't hold back at all." Sirius shot his first spell at her which she sidestepped easily.

He shot spell after spell at her, none of them touching her at all. Assyria didn't fire back at all and instead chose to go on the defensive. James watched his brother get frustrated while Assyria remained poise and focused. A frustrated Sirius is a stupid Sirius. He never thought things through when he was like that.

They watched as his form became more and more sloppy until she shot a single spell at him. "Stupefy." She said, her wand pointed at him with him having no time to react. They all watched as Sirius went down causing everyone to wince when they heard his head hit the ground, knocked out.

She walked over to his fallen form and pointed her wand at Sirius, she said, "Rennervate" to wake him up. Sirius groaned, holding his head as he lay on the ground. She held out her hand and pulled him up.

"You obviously have some skills with duelling. Not surprising, you are a pureblood but, you have absolutely no control on your emotions and let yourself be ruled by your frustration and anger. You mustn't let that happen or you will die." Soon, she duelled all of us which ended with us all losing and killer headaches but at least she gave us tips on how to be better.

Soon she set us all up in front of a dummy. Everyone was sweating and breathing heavily. "I want you to fire every single spell that you know at this dummy. After you're finish, a paper should appear in front of you. Bring me the paper and we will talk."

All of them started immediately. They soon were all sweating even more than before and breathing heavily even James, Sirius and Regulus who worked out at least once a day for Quidditch were tired.

Assyria watched them silently. They were determined, she would give them that. Looking over the group, she briefly wondered if this was a good idea. They were young, determined they were, yes but oh so naive. They have no idea what it's like to battle Death Eaters because those little kids in Slytherin that they fight are nothing like what real Death Eaters were like. They wouldn't hesitate to kill you if they felt like it. Deciding to train a little aswell, the Room conjured eight dummies for her to fight, each of them programmed to fight like the Death Eaters she had fought in her last timeline. Death Eaters like Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Yaxley and others. She was so lost in her fight that she did not notice the stares of her classmates until she had finished.

She had a small cut on her cheek, a bruise on her arm and shoulder and felt a slight burn on her left leg otherwise, she felt fine. "Are you all done?" The group gaped at her before they realised that she was speaking to them and hurriedly nodded their heads.

Assyria took each of the papers they handed to them and looked over them. After a few minutes she nodded her head. "It's as I thought. You know much more offensive spells than defensive although your offensive spells are abysmal at best and also extremely short."

The group became red faced listening to her. Assyria gave them a small smile before saying, "I'm not telling you this so you can feel bad for yourself or angry at me, only so you know that this will not be easy. You must be willing to work hard for it's a matter of life and death if it's still your wish to take part in the war."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So she's decided to train them? I was going to let them just not be trained by her but decided that she had to because I loved the characters too much. As you can see, Severus is not included in the group and that is the pure fact that even if he is civil with the Marauders, it does not mean that he wishes to be around them often. I do not know if I will choose to make him apart of their group of friends or not, probably not though because well, I'm one of those fans that hate his guts, sorry😂 so if you were expecting something else then nope lol. Hope you enjoyed xx


	14. Hanging With Death (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this isn't an update, it will focus only on Death and Assyria's relationship as they become closer to each other. An update should be coming soon although I have been focusing more on my other story, Estel but I thought that I should at least give the fans of this story, something lol so enjoy xx

**"Language of the Dead"**

* * *

It was a Friday night and she was spending it in the Room of Requirement with only an immortal, unfeeling entity for company. Humans were so drab anyway. Assyria hung upside down off her chair, the top of her head resting uncomfortably on the floor but she refused to move. Not until she proved whether or not if you hanging upside down would kill you because of all the blood rushing to your head. Death merely watched, use to his Master's weird quirks by now.

She was heading towards the thirty minute mark of her experiment when Death finally spoke up, interrupting her reverie. **"You know Master, why do you not seek the companionship of that boy?,"** Assyria groaned loudly, knowing exactly who it was that the immortal entity was talking about. Who know that Death was such a matchmaker? Sitting up slowly so as to not give herself a headache, she glared at Death who ignores her for now. **"Don't you humans all wish to find a prime mate? You could certainly do worst like that blonde peacock that keeps annoying you."**

Ok, she had to laugh at Death's description of Lucius Malfoy. He wasn't wrong though. That blonde idiot did march around like he owned Hogwarts. She could walk around like she owned the place though because she, well, she did own it. Well, her and her siblings owned it now that they were in the past.

Her thoughts were soon filled with hazel eyes, messy raven hair and slightly wonky looking glasses. James Fleamont Potter. The current bane of her existence. Always looking at her, trying to talk to her or simply gazing at her somewhat longingly every time their paths crossed in this school. Honestly, this massive castle and she passed him in the corridors every single time she was moving to her next class or even just returning to Ravenclaw Tower. She would have thought that he was using the Marauders' Map so he could see where she was if she didn't know that they didn't create the map til next year.

**"I do not wish to mate with that boy. I am perfectly fine on my own,"** she told the immortal hotly, wondering why everyone suddenly wanted her to give the Gryffindor a chance. There was nothing to give him a chance with at this very moment for she had no wish to string anyone along with the upcoming events in her life. **"Besides, I have you."**

Death looked at her dead in the eye (pun definitely intended) before saying, **"Of course I just had to have a hermit for a Master."**

She wasn't a hermit. Just because she preferred no company to having company didn't meant that she was a hermit. She told Death exactly that, only for him to point out that there were several parties going on that night and she was hanging around him. They bickered back and forth for several minutes before they finally stopped after Assyria said this.

**"Shut it you overgrown bag of bones."** Death gasped, offended at her words while Assyria sat on her chair innocently looking at the entity before allowing a smirk to appear. Serves him right for calling her a hermit. She wasn't a hermit!.

Sighing, Assyria looked at the entity who was currently stood in one of the corners of the Room of Requirement, pouting although he'd deny it because he's Death. Immortal and all powerful. Although he was definitely pouting. **"I am not pouting!,"** Death yelled at her, his 'body' turning towards her.

**"Now you're whining. Honestly Death, stop being such a baby,"** Deciding to get on his nerves, she mimicked his actions by moving to his side and standing in the exact same position that he was. Assyria had finally decided on Death being a male because although Death thought of himself as an it, she refused and promptly told him that he was a he.

**"I am not pouting! And stop copying me!,"** Not being able to help herself, she giggled in the face of the clearly angered immortal. **"I am Death. Besides I don't even have lips to pout with as you can see, it's only bone."**

The girl smirked mischievously, making the immortal become a little wary of the little human girl thing in front of him. **"So you admit that you're an overgrown bag of bones...."**

Death groaned loudly, in his mind and aloud before just turning to the wall and pouting. He wished that he had never made those damn Hallows now. He also learnt to just not mention his Masters love life. That's what he gets for actually caring about her and her happiness.

Never again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just thought I'd write little snippets of Death and Assyria together because I felt like that I wouldn't be able to show the growth of their relationship too much in the main plot of the story. Anyways there should be another update sometime this week! Thank you to my loyal readers xxx


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